Aston Villa 6 Blackburn Rovers 4 (Villa won 7-4 on aggregate):Aston Villa reached the English League Cup final after fighting back from 2-0 down to beat Blackburn Rovers 6-4 in a thrilling semi-final second leg at Villa Park tonight.
Villa, 7-4 winners on aggregate, will play Manchester United or Manchester City in the final at Wembley on February 28th thanks to an astonishing comeback after Rovers were reduced to 10-men when defender Christopher Samba was sent-off.
Martin O'Neill's team, 1-0 up from the first leg at Rovers, found themselves 2-1 behind in the tie as Nikola Kalinic scored twice for Rovers in the opening 26 minutes at Villa Park.
Stephen Warnock halved the arrears after 30 minutes and James Milner equalised from the spot following Samba's dismissal six minutes before halftime.
An own goal from Steven Nzonzi put Villa 3-2 ahead after 52 minutes with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey adding the fourth and fifth goals for the home side.
Martin Olsson and Brett Emerton pulled back late consolations for Rovers before Ashley Young claimed Villa's sixth in stoppage time.
Manchester City beat local rivals United 2-1 in the first leg of their semi-final last night with the second leg at Old Trafford next Wednesday.
Tonight’s Cross-Channel Results
Premier League
Arsenal 4 Bolton 2
Liverpool 2 Tottenham 0
Carling Cup
Semi-final
Second Leg
Aston Villa 6 Blackburn Rovers 4
(Villa won 7-4 on aggregate)