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First round results so far
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Carling Cup round-up
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the Manchester United starting line-up as the Premier League champions beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at Old Trafford.
By Colin Spiro
Last Updated: 10:44PM BST 23 Sep 2008
Back in business: Cristiano Ronaldo scored Man United's first goal at Old Trafford Photo: AP
The Portuguese international scored with a first-half header after good work from Ryan Giggs.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the Manchester United starting line-up as the Premier League champions beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at Old Trafford. The Portuguese international scored with a first-half header after good work from Ryan Giggs.
Andy Johnson gave the visitors brief hope when he equalised after the break, but United eased through to the fourth round thanks to late goals from Giggs and Nani. Middlesbrough were already down to 10 men by then after Emanuel Pogatetz was sent off for an awful challenge on Rodrigo Possebon, which resulted in the young Brazilian being stretchered off with a suspected broken leg.
Arsenal's young guns put Sheffield United to the sword as they hammered six past the hapless Championship side, with Mexican Carlos Vela claiming a hat-trick.
Arsene Wenger fielded a side with an average age of just 19 and was rewarded with a thrilling foretaste of Arsenal's future. Even 16-year-old Jack Wilshere got on the scoresheet as Sheffield were simply overwhelmed after Nick Bendtner had opened the mayhem with his first-half double.
Liverpool also fielded a young side but were made to work harder for their 2-1 home win against Crewe.
A second-half winner from Lucas eased nerves at Anfield after Michael O'Connor had given the visitors hope with a 25th-minute equaliser following Daniel Agger's earlier strike.
A Hayden Mullins own goal completed a miserable day for West Ham as they crashed out 1-0 against Watford at Vicarage Road, just hours after hearing they faced a £30m compensation bill for the long-running Carlos Tevez affair.
Goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka missed a cross and the ball bounced in off a non-plussed Mullins with 20 minutes to go as Gianfranco Zola tasted defeat for the first time in charge of West Ham.
Substitute Jay Rodriguez scored a late winner as Burnley beat Fulham 1-0. The 19-year-old had only been on the pitch two minutes when he rounded the goalkeeper to score the game's only goal in the 88th minute.
Sunderland performed the evening's greatest escape act with substitute Anthony Stokes scoring twice in the last eight minutes as they rallied from 2-0 down at home to Northampton.
The League One club looked destined for the fourth round after goals from Colin Larkin and Luke Gutteridge, but Stokes' double strike took the game into extra time before the hosts won 4-3 on penalties when goalkeeper Marton Fulop saved Leon Constantine's spot kick.
Stoke City were also taken to extra-time and penalties before eventually prevailing at home to Reading. The visitors twice came from behind thanks to a brace of goals from James Henry, but his (and their) luck ran out when he missed his penalty kick in the shootout as Reading went down 4-3. Leroy Lita also missed as Stoke survived to scrape through to round four.
Vincent Pericard and Mamady Sibide had earlier scored for the home side.
League Two outfit Rotherham claimed another Championship scalp as they dumped Southampton out with a 3-1 victory at the Don Valley Stadium. Nick Fenton, Danny Harrison and Drewe Broughton scored for the home side, with Stern John getting the Saints' consolation strike.
Swansea City won the Welsh derby as they overcame rivals Cardiff City thanks to Jordi Gomez's deflected 57th-minute goal at the Liberty Stadium. Cardiff's Stephen McPhail was sent off in the 75th minute after two bookable offences to compound the visitor's woes.
Elsewhere, Leeds were indebted to a last-minute winner from Andy Robinson as they came from behind to beat Hartlepool 3-2 at Elland Road.
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