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NEWCASTLE, England: Two goals apiece by Joelinton and William Osula helped holders Newcastle United ease to a 4-1 victory over third-tier Bradford City and into the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

Newcastle ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought by beating Liverpool to win last season’s competition and once Joelinton and Osula scored in the space of two minutes early they were never in any danger of a shock exit.

The night could have been billed Premier League vs. League One as Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all entered the competition against third-tier opposition.

Phil Foden was on target for Manchester City as they beat League One Huddersfield Town 2-0 away while Eberechi Eze netted his first goal for Arsenal since his move from Crystal Palace to send his side to a 2-0 win at Port Vale.

Tottenham Hotspur’s bright start to the season under new manager Thomas Frank continued as they cruised to a 3-0 victory at home to Doncaster Rovers.

The fourth-round draw, made late in the evening, gave Newcastle a home tie against Tottenham while Manchester City are away at second-tier Swansea City. Arsenal will host Brighton and Hove Albion while Liverpool are at home to Crystal Palace. Chelsea are away at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe fielded a strong line-up for his side’s opening hurdle in the defense of their trophy and his team proved too slick for League One leaders Bradford.

Joelinton put them ahead in the 17th minute with his first goal for nine months, controlling Anthony Gordon’s shot and placing his effort past Bradford keeper Sam Walker.

Osula ran through to make it 2-0 in the 19th minute but Newcastle had to wait until the 75th minute for Joelinton to make it 3-0 with another cool slotted finish.

Boyhood Newcastle fan Andy Cook smashed a reply for the visitors after coming off the bench but Osula confirmed Newcastle’s superiority with his second goal.

Foden has shown glimpses of a return to his best form for City and he gave them an early lead with a clinical finish after exchanging passes with Divine Mukasa. He then set up Savinho in the 74th minute to wrap up the tie.

Eze made a big impact when coming off the bench against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday — his pass creating a stoppage-time equalizer for Gabriel Martinelli.

On Wednesday, Martinelli returned the favor, helping set up the 60 million pounds ($81 million) signing to score in the eighth minute.

“Very special. I’ve been waiting to score for this club for a long time and the first is very special,” Eze said.

Arsenal were rarely in top gear and needed a late goal by Leandro Trossard to wrap it up.

Joao Palhinha scored with an acrobatic overhead kick to give Tottenham an early breakthrough at home to Doncaster, his first goal for the club and the hosts were in cruise control after a Jay McGrath own goal. Brennan Johnson got on the scoresheet for the London club in stoppage time.

The draw for the last-16 included three Welsh clubs for the first time and two of them meet, with Hollywood-backed Wrexham at home against Cardiff City.

DUBAI: Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has declared that his team will reach the Asia Cup final and can beat India if the arch-rivals clash again.

Pakistan kept their campaign alive with a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a Super Four clash in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

India and Pakistan have met twice in this edition of the regional competition but the neighbors have never played against each other in an Asia Cup final.

The regional tournament, played this time in the UAE under the Twenty20 format, started in 1984 and this is its 17th edition.

Bangladesh, who face India on Wednesday and Pakistan on Thursday, stand in the way of the great rivals facing off in Sunday’s decider in Dubai.

India are holders and beat Pakistan in both previous matches, but Shaheen was in a bullish mood after taking 3-28 against Sri Lanka.

“They have still not reached the final; when they do, then we will see them,” said Shaheen.

“We are here to win the cup, whichever team comes in the final we are ready to beat them.”

If both teams reach the final, India will once again start as strong favorites having won 12 of 15 T20Is between the two countries.

India have also won the last seven internationals against Pakistan since September 2022, four T20Is and three one-day internationals.

That sequence prompted India skipper Suryakumar Yadav to declare India-Pakistan “is not a rivalry anymore.” 

In both wins for India in the UAE there were no handshakes, adding another layer to an already intense rivalry.

“It is his opinion that, let him say that,” said Shaheen of Suryakumar’s cutting comments.

“When they reach the final then we will see. Our job is to win the Asia Cup, and we will make a complete effort to do that.”