Chelsea edge seven-goal thriller

Carling Cup round-up

Grimsby receive ground boost

Chelsea squeezed through to the fifth round of the Carling Cup after suffering a scare against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge. In a thrilling match, the home side twice came from behind to eventually win the game 4-3, helped by a Frank Lampard hat-trick. Elsewhere, all the big guns progressed. Eduardo scored twice as Arsenal beat Sheffield United 0-3 at Brammal Lane, Liverpool beat Cardiff City 2-1 at Anfield while Juande Ramos got off to a winning start as manager of Tottenham Hotspur as his charges eased past Blackpool 2-0 at White Hart Lane. In the two all-Premiership games, Elano scored a late penalty as Manchester City beat Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium while Blackburn Rovers also won away from home as they dispatched Portsmouth 1-2. The only tie of the night to enter extra time was at Kenilworth Road where Everton eventually beat Luton Town. Tim Cahill scored the only goal of the game after 101 minutes.

The quarter-finals of the CIS Insurance Cup saw Aberdeen ease into the last four with a convincing 4-1 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Pittodrie. The major surprise of the night came at Celtic Park though where Heart of Midlothian beat Celtic 0-2 thanks to two late strikes from Andrius Velicka. Goals from Nacho Novo and Kris Boyd helped Rangers to a 1-2 away win at Motherwell while Noel Hunt scored a hat-trick as Dundee United beat Hamilton Academicals at Tannadice.

The 15-year-old brother of Birmingham City midfielder Wilson Palacios has been kidnapped. Edwin Rene Palacios, the brother of Honduran midfielder, was snatched in the central American country on Tuesday. Birmingham said Palacios has decided to remain in the UK for now.

Liverpool have launched an inquiry after John Arne Riise’s payslip appeared on the Internet. The document reveals the Norwegian’s net pay, home address, national insurance number and appearance bonuses.

Senegal captain El Hadji Diouf has released a signed statement renouncing his decision to quit international football.

Everton striker Yakubu Ayegbeni has been dropped from Nigeria’s squad for a friendly against Australia next month. The news comes after rumours about his relationship with coach Berti Vogts.

Ipswich Town have agreed in principle to sell a £44m majority stake in the club to private businessman Marcus Evans. The proposed investment is subject to contracts being agreed and a period of due diligence, and will now be recommended to shareholders.

Grimsby Town have received a boost with the news that the government will not be calling in the club’s planning application for a new stadium at Great Coates. The application will now go before the local authority.

Nathan Davies