Fleetwood stun Premier League champions Arsenal in Carabao Cup penalty shootout

League Two Fleetwood Town eliminated Premier League champions Arsenal from the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, winning a penalty shootout 1-1 (on penalties) at Highbury in one of the most startling cup upsets in recent memory. Conor Haughey scored the winning penalty, then immediately made headlines of a different kind with a colourful post-match interview.

Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave Fleetwood a shock lead before Viktor Gyokeres equalised for Arsenal in the second half. The Gunners could not find a winner in normal time, and their evening worsened when Max Dowman was sent off in the closing stages. In the shootout, Bruno Guimaraes had his effort saved, leaving Haughey to fire home the decisive kick.

Asked what was going through his mind before his penalty, Haughey told the pitchside reporter: “Hit top corner and run like f***.” The expletive prompted repeated on-air apologies from the interviewer.

Goalkeeper Jay Lynch, who was central to Fleetwood’s heroics throughout, was more measured in his assessment. “My voice has gone from organising the defence,” he said. “The whole team throughout the game was magnificent. To beat the English champions — credit to these lads.”

Lynch revealed the squad had drawn inspiration from Grimsby’s famous League Cup victory over Manchester United the previous season. “We looked at Grimsby beating Man Utd last year. We compared it even though these are the champions. We thought ‘if we lay it all out there, let’s see what happens’. A typical night in Fleetwood — we were expecting a storm, we knew the conditions would be horrible, so we thought it might go in our favour. Amazing for the club, the town. Honestly it means everything to everyone.”

Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor admitted he had barely processed the result by the time he addressed his players. “I just couldn’t believe it. The biggest night in the club’s history in terms of opposition coming to town and we’ve managed to beat the champions somehow,” he said.

Lawlor added that he had momentarily forgotten the tie would go straight to penalties rather than extra time. “Someone told me it was penalties and I had a little sly grin to my face and thought ‘oh my lord’. I’m lost for words that we’ve gone up against an amazing team that are the champions of England. I can’t understate that.”

Arsenal must quickly regroup, with a Premier League fixture against Liverpool coming up at the weekend.