The Korea Herald

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Arsenal recovers from 4 down at Reading to win

By Korea Herald

Published : Oct. 31, 2012 - 19:44

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LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal staged a stunning comeback at Reading, overcoming a 4-0, first-half decifit and winning 7-5 Tuesday night to advance to the League Cup quarterfinals as Theo Walcott scored a hat trick.

Some Arsenal fans left in the first half after seeing second-tier Reading dominated its Premier League rival.

Walcott scored in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, goals by Olivier Giroud in the 64th and Laurent Koscielny in the 89th cut the deficit, and Walcott tied the score in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Marouane Chamakh put Arsenal ahead for the first time in the 103rd, but Pavel Pogrebnyak tied the score in the 116th.

Walcott completed his hat trick in the first minute of stoppage time and Chamakh chipped goalkeeper Adam Federici to score in the third.

“It was an unbelievable game. I’m absolutely knackered now,” Walcott said.

Three Premier League clubs ― Southampton, Sunderland and Wigan ― were beaten by lower-league opposition.

The biggest shock came at Wigan where fourth-tier Bradford won 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie. Southampton lost 3-0 to Leeds, which got goals from Michael Tonge and El-Hadji Diouf and a penalty kick by Luciano Becchio to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1996.

Spain

David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas scored as defending champion Barcelona won 3-0 at Alaves in the first leg of the fourth round of Spain’s Copa del Rey.

Barcelona didn’t even dress Lionel Messi or Xavi against the third-tier team.

Villa scored in the 40th minute, Iniesta in the 51st and Fabregas in the 89th.

Italy

Milan rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie 2-2 at Palermo in the Serie A as Stephan El Shaarawy got the final goal in the 80th minute.

Fabrizio Miccoli’s penalty kick, awarded after Ignazio Abate’s handball, put Palermo ahead in first-half stoppage time and Franco Brienza doubled the lead in the 47th.

Riccardo Montolivo started Milan’s comeback in the 69th.

Germany

Defending champion Borussia Dortmund progressed to the third round of the German Cup with a 4-1 win at second-division Aalen.

Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer scored in the first half, with Mario Goetze and substitute Julian Schieber adding two more in the second. Michael Klauss scored Aalen’s late consolation with a free kick.