The Carabao Cup witnessed dramatic scenes as Huddersfield Town stunned Leicester City in a penalty shootout, while Birmingham City secured a late victory against Sheffield United.
Huddersfield Town emerged victorious against Leicester City after a captivating 2-2 draw at the Accu Stadium. The hero of the hour was goalkeeper Lee Nicholls, who made crucial saves in the penalty shootout to secure a 3-2 win for the Terriers. Huddersfield started the game strongly, with Ruben Roosken and David Kasumu having strong penalty shouts turned down early in the game. However, it was Leicester who broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half when Hamza Choudhury fired a half-cleared ball into the top corner. Huddersfield responded swiftly, with Dan Vost heading home the rebound after Dion Charles's penalty was saved. Leicester regained the lead through Harry Winks, but Huddersfield youngster Cameron Ashia, who is 18 years old, leveled the score again with a fantastic curling effort. In the penalty shootout, Nicholls saved efforts from Jordan Ayew and Kasey McAteer, sending Huddersfield through to the second round, where they will face Sunderland.
In the other match, Birmingham City defeated Sheffield United 2-1, thanks to a late winner from Jay Stansfield. Kyogo Furuhashi opened the scoring for Birmingham early in the first half, tapping in a cross from Demarai Gray. Sheffield United's Gustavo Hamer scored a stunning goal from his own half to level the score. However, Stansfield secured the win for Birmingham with a deflected shot three minutes from time. Birmingham will now host Port Vale in the second round. Blades manager Rubén Sellés made 10 changes to the starting XI, giving debuts to Djibril Soumaré and Ehije Ukaki.