Arsenal feasts on Sanchez mistakes to set up 3-2 win over Chelsea in League Cup semifinals

Arsenal scored two goals off errors by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to set up a 3-2 win at Chelsea in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

A corner sailed over Sanchez in the seventh minute, allowing Ben White to head into an unguarded net, before the Spanish keeper let a low cross squirm through his grasp to gift Viktor Gyokeres a tap-in in the 49th.

Substitute Alejandro Garnacho pulled a goal back but Martin Zubimendi restored Arsenal’s two-goal cushion by slotting home a finish in the 70th.

Garnacho’s second goal — in the 83rd — gave Chelsea a lifeline ahead of the second leg on Feb. 3 at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

Still, Mikel Arteta’s team is the favorite to advance to the March 22 final at Wembley Stadium in what is shaping up to be a banner season for the Gunners, who lead the Premier League by six points and top the Champions League standings.

Liam Rosenior, taking charge of his first home match as Chelsea's new coach, refused to criticize Sanchez for his mistakes.

“I said to him before the game and I made this really clear — when my players make mistakes, I'm accountable. That's on me,” Rosenior said.

“I'll stay positive with him, as I will all the group. My job is to help them, not to blame them.”

In the other semifinal matchup, Manchester City won 2-0 at Newcastle in the first leg on Tuesday. Their second match is on Feb. 4.

It means the most likely title match is City vs. Arsenal, the top two in the league. That would be a rematch of the 2018 final — the last one Arsenal reached in the League Cup — which City won 3-0.

Rosenior was hired last week on a 6-year deal and won in the FA Cup over the weekend.

That was away, against a second-division opponent in Charlton Athletic, so this was Rosenior's first real test and Arsenal could have left Stamford Bridge in a commanding position.

Instead, Garnacho's late goal gives hope to Chelsea, which was without Reece James, Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto as they manage injuries and Moises Caicedo through suspension.

“I love the energy of my team, we kept going until the end,” Rosenior said. “Frustrated with the manner we conceded the goals but a lot of positive aspects to the performance considering the players we had out today.”

White said Arsenal allowed Chelsea to apply pressure in the second half. "Not up to our standards really,” he said.

Rosenior insisted Monday that Arsenal shouldn't be labeled as “Set Piece FC” — a reference to the team's prowess in dead-ball situations — but the opener came from that route.

Sanchez came for the ball that was swung in by Declan Rice but it flew over him, while Chelsea striker Joao Pedro inexplicably failed to jump and attempt to clear. It left White with a simple task to head home.

That was Arsenal's 24th goal from a set piece in all competitions this season, according to the BBC, with 18 coming from corners.

That was a sloppy mistake by Sanchez, but his second was worse.

White's ball across the face of the six-yard box should easily have been gathered by the goalkeeper but it went through his arms as he dived. Gyokeres couldn't miss for just his second goal since Nov. 1.

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Chelsea's head coach Liam Rosenior, left. tries to break up an altercation between Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, center, and Arsenal's Martin Zubimendi as Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta watches at the end of the English League Cup semifinal first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Chelsea's Alejandro Garnacho clears the ball during the English League Cup semifinal first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres, second right, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English League Cup semifinal first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the English League Cup semifinal first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

Chelsea's goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, center, tries to catch the ball during the English League Cup semifinal first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the English League Cup semifinal first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.

Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.

Here is the latest:

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.

“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.

“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”

“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”

Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.

Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.

Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.

Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.

Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,

Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.

“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.

Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.

Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.

The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.

Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.

State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.

Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)