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ENGLAND:
Tammy Abraham made the difference for his side once more, scoring a goal that put them through to the third round of the EFL Cup. As manager Lee Johnson opted to rotate, Abraham began the away tie against League One side Scunthorpe, on the bench. With the scores level well into the second half, Abraham and Lee Tomlin were brought on in the 67th minute and the 18-year-old found the back of the net in the 97th minute, which proved to be the last, and most importantly, winning goal of the game. Bristol will face Tomas Kalas’ Fulham in the next round.
That makes it 4 goals in 6 games for the youngster, who’ll rub shoulders with a defence of a relatively higher level when Roberto Di Matteos' Aston Villa travel to Bristol on Saturday.
Nathan Ake was handed his first start as Bournemouth took on fourth tier Morecambe. Ake started at center-back (cue irony talk about the CB crisis back home) opposite fellow full debutant, Marc Wilson. A Wilson attempt from distance sent Bournemouth through to the next round, winning with two goals to one. Most indications in pre-season were that Ake would be tried out in a midfield role, but Bournemouth fans were impressed by his display at center back, too.
Think Eddie Howe has a real #AFCB selection quandary for Saturday. Where does he get @NathanAke into the side? And does Arter come back?
— Kris Temple (@kristemple) August 25, 2016
I think Nathan Ake is going to seriously test Eddie Howe's loyalty to Andrew Surman #afcb
— Rob Meech (@RobMeech) August 24, 2016
I think I love Nathan Ake. Would love to see him in midfield along with Lewis Cook. Probably doomed now I've said that though. #afcb
— Sue (@smiley_jedi) August 25, 2016
Alexander Kiwomya was handed a start in Crewe Alexandra’s seven-goal thriller against Blackburn Rovers. Crewe came out the losing end unfortunately, but Kiwomya played the whole 120 and assisted his side’s third goal.
Kiwomya has 3 goals and 3 assists in 6 total appearances for the League Two outfit.
Worked our socks off, didn't get the result we wanted and I feel deserved! Another assist, but onto the next game on Saturday @crewealexfc
— Alexander Kiwomya (@Golden_Kiwomya) August 23, 2016
Fulham beat Middlesbrough 2-1 and will face Bristol City in the next round. Tomas Kalas was rested and took no part in the game but he did get called up to the Czech national team for the upcoming round of international matches.
Poprvé se v #Ceskarepre představí Jan Sýkora a Lukáš Pokorný! Po delší době se vrací Jaroslav Drobný! pic.twitter.com/3sjGsSwQbS
— Fotbalová repre ČR (@ceskarepre_cz) August 25, 2016
Champions League Qualifiers:
Bertrand Traore started for Ajax as they looked to secure a victory against FC Rostov and qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. To say that things didn’t go according to plan would be an understatement; Ajax were shambolic and were soundly beaten 4-1 by their Russian opponents. Things just haven’t got going for Peter Bosz’s side this season, who have won only one (against Sparta Rotterdam) out of their four games so far. Not qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition will be a major blow both for the club and for Chelsea, who presumably expected Ajax to qualify and offer Bertrand that valuable experience. Instead, Ajax have been consigned to the Europa League group stages.
Andreas Christensen started for Borussia Monchengladbach, who in stark contrast to Ajax, breezed past their opponents, SC Young Boys with a solid 6-1 (9-2 agg.) thumping. Christensen looks set to play in the Champions League for the second season running, though Gladbach once again got stuck with a tough draw.
The official result of the #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/WxbnD5tLEP
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 25, 2016