LONDON: Manchester City scored three second-half goals on Wednesday for a 3-0 win over Arsenal and a meeting with defending champion Manchester United in the League Cup semi-finals.

City is on a streak of seven draws in the Premier League but advanced to their first semi-final since 1981 with a second win over Arsenal this season. Blackburn will meet Aston Villa in the other two-legged semi-final after beating Chelsea 4-3 in a shootout after a 3-3 extra-time draw in the other quarter-final.

Carlos Tevez put City ahead five minutes into the second half, stealing possession from Tomas Rosicky to carry the ball into the area and hit a right-footed shot in off the crossbar. Shaun Wright-Phillips counterattacked from halfway in the 69th minute and scored with a fierce shot into the far top corner, and substitute Vladimir Weiss rounded off the scoring in the final minute. City’s expensively assembled squad could now be just three matches away from winning the club’s first trophy since the 1976 League Cup.

Gael Kakuta missed the decisive penalty for Chelsea after Paulo Ferreira had rescued a 3-3 draw for the Blues with a goal in the last minute of extra time. The 18-year-old Kakuta needed to score to keep Chelsea in the shootout but goalkeeper Paul Robinson saved his kick.

The teams had drawn 2-2 through 90 minutes as Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou scored for Chelsea and Nikola Kalinic and Brett Emerton scored for Blackburn. Benni McCarthy then had an injury-time winner ruled out because of offside before hitting a 93rd-minute penalty to put Blackburn into what had looked like a decisive lead until Ferreira scored.

Spanish La Liga

JEREZ: Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored to give Barcelona a 2-0 win at Xerez to open up a five-point lead over Real Madrid in Spanish League.

On the same day that FIFA opened a disciplinary case against Henry for a blatant hand ball that helped put France into the World Cup, the Barcelona striker turned Maxwell’s pass through the hands of goalkeeper Renan Soares in the 46th minute.

Ibrahimovic chipped over Renan in injury time to make up for missed chances by Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta.

Barcelona have 33 points from 13 games. Madrid, who play on Saturday against Almeria, have 28 from 12 games. Sevilla is third with 26 points, one better than both Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna. Xerez remained in last place with seven points.