Man City beat Leicester to reach semi-final

Edin Dzeko scored twice as Manchester City booked their place in the Capital One Cup semi-finals with an impressive display against Leicester.

Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov scored the visitors' opener with a fantastic 25-yard free-kick, before Dzeko headed in his first from James Milner's cross.
The Bosnian striker netted his side's third after the break when he side-footed in from another Milner ball.
Lloyd Dyer scored a late consolation when he drove in at the near post.
That strike, 13 minutes from time, was the only effort that troubled Joe Hart in the visitors' goal, as the players picked by Manuel Pellegrini performed at near-optimum level to quell any possibility of an upset.

Man City's semi record

Manchester City have reached their third League Cup semi-final in the past five seasons but have not played in the final since 1976

Despite eight changes, they gave the third-placed Championship club little time to settle, with Kasper Schmeichel forced into an uncannily accurate impression of his father Peter just five minutes in, when he raced out and spread himself to thwart Jack Rodwell.

But two minutes later, the Dane was beaten by a powerful free-kick from Kolarov, who also scored against Leicester in the FA Cup almost three years ago.
Schmeichel then made another splendid stop to deny Dzeko from point-blank range following a scintillating move involving Kolarov and David Silva.
However, the Bosnia forward finally got the better of Leicester's number one when he judged Milner's deflected cross perfectly to head in at the far post.
The visitors did not relent after the break, with Schmeichel needing strong hands in the opening minutes to prevent Milner and Dzeko from scoring with fierce shots.

 But, in the next attack, he was beaten by accuracy rather than power when Dzeko stroked in the third from Milner's pull-back.

The Premier League side, who have now won all five of their away matches in cup competitions this season, slackened off in the closing stages - and their hosts took advantage.
Winger Dyer, the Foxes' biggest attacking threat, was played in by full-back Paul Konchesky before smashing home off the legs of Vincent Kompany.
Nigel Pearson's side threw everything they had into the final minutes, but the visiting side saw the game out comfortably.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini:
"We had a very good first half, and then we had the possession and dominated the game until they scored.
"It is an important competition, it is important to win every game you play in and to get to the final at Wembley would be wonderful for the supporters.
"I think the League Cup is different to normal because we could have Tottenham or Manchester United also in the semi-final so that would be beautiful for the fans."
Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson:
"They were probably too good for us. Looking at the first goal, it was a great strike, but the the second and third goals were disappointing from our perspective.
"When you play against sides as good as Man City you have to give yourself the best chance. We got punished for small mistakes."

Lineup, Bookings (2) & Substitutions (5)

Leicester City

• 01 Schmeichel
• 27 Wasilewski
• 03 Konchesky
• 04 Drinkwater
• 05 Morgan
• 23 Miquel
• 24 Knockaert (Vardy - 45' )
• 10 King
• 35 Nugent (Schlupp - 68' )
• 22 Taylor-Fletcher (James - 45' )
• 11 Dyer

Substitutes

• 02 de Laet
• 07 Hammond
• 08 James
• 09 Vardy
• 15 Schlupp
• 18 Moore
• 25 Logan

Manchester City

• 01 Hart
• 05 Zabaleta (Boyata - 12' Booked )
• 13 Kolarov
• 17 Rodwell
• 04 Kompany
• 06 Lescott
• 15 Jesús Navas Booked
• 14 Javi García
• 10 Dzeko
• 21 Silva (Nasri - 70' )
• 07 Milner

Substitutes

• 08 Nasri
• 09 Negredo
• 25 Fernandinho
• 26 Demichelis
• 30 Pantilimon
• 38 Boyata

Ref: Roger East

Att: 31,319

Liverpool open Suarez contract talks

Luis Suarez: Liverpool open talks over new contract for striker

Liverpool have opened talks with Luis Suarez's agent over a deal that could make the Uruguayan striker the highest-paid player in the club's history.

  24 April: Banned for 10 games by the Football Association for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic
29 May: Drops a big hint he wants to leave Liverpool by saying he finds life in England hard
12 June: Reiterates his love for Liverpool, but insists life in England is very hard
8 July: Liverpool turn down a £30m bid from Arsenal
24 July: Arsenal offer £40,000,001 for Suarez, believing it triggers a clause in his contract
2 August: Sources say Suarez will consider a formal transfer request and the possibility of court action if dispute with Liverpool is not resolved
7 August: Suarez says he wants to leave Liverpool to join a Champions League side
8 August: Told to train alone by manager Brendan Rodgers, who says the player has shown "total disrespect" for the club.

Managing director Ian Ayre returned to Merseyside on Tuesday having spent 24 hours in Spain, where he held talks with Suarez's agent, Pere Guardiola.

Liverpool's owners have sanctioned the deal but it remains to be seen whether Suarez, 26, is willing to commit beyond 2016, when his current contract ends.
Real Madrid retain an interest in him.
But Reds manager Brendan Rodgers said recently: "He is really happy here. He is playing with a smile and enthusiasm. The whole profile of the club fits him perfectly. The supporters idolise him and you can see the connection there."
It may take a contract offer of close to £200,000 per week, double Suarez's present deal, to persuade him to sign a new contract. However his relationship with leading figures at Anfield has improved significantly since he attempted to force a move to Arsenal in the summer.
The Gunners made two bids for the Uruguay international, including a club-record offer of £40m plus £1 in an attempt to trigger a release clause in his contract.
Both were rejected, with Rodgers accusing Arsenal of "playing games".
Suarez was considering submitting a formal transfer request and the possibility of court action if the dispute was not resolved as he believed the second bid triggered a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the club, whom he signed for in January 2011 for a fee of £22.7m.
Suarez was initially made to train alone during pre-season, but returned to the first-team fold on 16 August after talks with Rodgers.
He missed the first six games of the season after being given a 10-match ban in April for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, but returned against Manchester United on 25 September and has scored 17 goals in 12 games.