Wednesday’s briefing: Nightmare for Lacroix while Slot and Frank clash

Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix endured an evening to forget as Arsenal scraped into the Carabao Cup semi-finals on penalties.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot and Tottenham boss Thomas Frank had a difference of opinions on the tackle which left Alexander Isak with a broken leg.

US television host and author Martha Stewart joined Snoop Dogg and Luka Modric as a minority owner of Swansea, while Senegal were among the teams to enjoy a winning start at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Arsenal into semi-finals after shoot-out

Arsenal secured their place in the last four of the Carabao Cup thanks to a marathon 8-7 sudden-death penalty shootout victory over Crystal Palace.

Eagles centre-back Maxence Lacroix scored an own goal to give the Gunners an 80th-minute lead at the Emirates Stadium.

The Frenchman then missed the decisive penalty, which was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga, after Marc Guehi forced spot-kicks by equalising in the fifth minute of added time.

Premier League leaders Arsenal face a two-legged London derby against Chelsea in the semi-finals.

Slot calls Van de Ven tackle ‘reckless’

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot criticised Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven for the “reckless” tackle which has sidelined Alexander Isak for a couple of months with a fractured fibula.

Reds striker Isak was injured in scoring the opening goal of Saturday’s 2-1 top-flight win in north London when his shooting leg was caught by sliding Spurs defender Van de Ven.

Slot said: “This was, for me, a reckless challenge. If you make a tackle like that 10 times, 10 times there is a serious chance the player gets a serious injury.”

Spurs boss Thomas Frank defended his player, saying: “Reckless challenge? I don’t think you see anything like that from Micky. He is very fair and I know the two players have sorted it out, so that’s a good sign.”

Stewart joins Snoop as Swans co-owner

US TV host and author Martha Stewart became a minority owner of Championship club Swansea.

The lifestyle and homemaking expert, who is 84, joined close friend Snoop Dogg and Croatia and AC Milan midfielder Luka Modric as part-owners of the Swans.

She attended Friday’s 2-1 victory over Welsh rivals Wrexham.

Majority owners Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen said: “We are very excited to welcome Martha on board, and we know experiencing Friday night’s game in-person has only increased her own enthusiasm and anticipation for being part of Swansea City.”

Jackson helps Senegal beat Botswana

Nicolas Jackson’s brace helped Senegal ease to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Botswana in their opening match at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Bayern Munich forward Jackson, on loan from Chelsea, struck either side of half-time before substitute Cherif Ndiaye completed the scoring.

Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Benin 1-0 in the other Group D fixture thanks to a goal from Theo Bongonda.

In Group C, Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman were on target as Nigeria beat Tanzania 2-1, while Elias Achouri’s double helped Tunisia win 3-1 against Uganda.

What’s on today

Holders the Ivory Coast begin their defence of the Africa Cup of Nations against Mozambique, while Cameroon take on Gabon in the other Group F fixture.

In Group E, Algeria face Sudan after Burkina Faso play Equatorial Guinea.