Midweek Football Round-Up: Hearts Heroics, Celtic Collapse and Carabao Cup Chaos

The midweek programme produced goals, shocks, penalty shoot-outs and two dramatically different European stories for Scottish football. Chelsea began the week by edging a five-goal London derby, the Carabao Cup delivered several emphatic victories and lower-league successes, while Hearts provided a stirring response to Celtic’s painful Champions League exit.

Here is our round-up of the main football stories from Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 August 2026.

Chelsea Edge Five-Goal Derby at Fulham

Chelsea made a winning start under Xabi Alonso by beating Fulham 3-2 at Craven Cottage on Monday evening.

The visitors needed only 32 seconds to open the scoring. Cole Palmer released João Pedro, who broke clear and calmly finished past Robert Sánchez. Fulham responded through Josh King in the 23rd minute, but debutant Morgan Rogers restored Chelsea’s lead before half-time.

Palmer made it 3-1 shortly after the interval, completing a flowing attack involving Rogers and João Pedro. Fulham refused to surrender and reduced the deficit through Gonzalo García, but Chelsea held on to secure three points from an entertaining west London derby.

There was plenty for Alonso to admire in Chelsea’s attacking play, particularly the understanding between Palmer, Rogers and João Pedro. However, the chances conceded at the other end ensured that the new manager’s first victory was far from comfortable. Chelsea’s official match report confirmed all five goals and Alonso’s winning start.

Brentford Hit Birmingham for Six

The Carabao Cup took centre stage on Tuesday, with Brentford producing the largest victory of the evening.

Callum Wilson scored six minutes into his first competitive start for the Bees, although Birmingham briefly levelled through Demarai Gray. Aaron Hickey restored Brentford’s advantage before Nathan Collins headed home to establish a 3-1 half-time lead.

Mikkel Damsgaard and Igor Thiago extended the margin after the break before Collins completed the scoring with his second goal of the night. The 6-1 defeat was a sobering result for Birmingham, while Brentford demonstrated the considerable depth available within their squad.

Nottingham Forest also suffered an early exit, losing 2-0 at home to Leeds United. Dan James opened the scoring before James Justin secured the victory, giving Leeds their second win over Forest in the space of only a few days.

Peterborough United supplied one of the most eye-catching lower-league performances. The League One club swept aside a youthful Watford team 5-1 at Vicarage Road, with Harry Leonard scoring twice. James Clarridge’s own goal started the scoring before Leonard, Bolu Shofowoke and Harrison Jones placed the tie beyond Watford’s reach.

Ipswich Progress in Spectacular Fashion

Ipswich Town defeated Leicester City 3-1 at Portman Road, but the scoreline only tells part of the story.

Marcelino Núñez scored twice, including an extraordinary stoppage-time effort from close to the halfway line. Spotting goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk away from his line, Núñez launched an ambitious shot that struck the crossbar before crossing the line. It was a spectacular conclusion to a difficult evening for Leicester, whose uncertain opening to the season continued.

Coventry City won an entertaining contest at Plymouth Argyle 4-2, while West Ham United recorded a convincing 4-1 victory at Southampton. Wolverhampton Wanderers progressed by beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-0, and Sheffield United secured a 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers.

Lincoln City won 4-1 at Blackpool, Fleetwood Town defeated Shrewsbury Town 4-0 and Reading returned from Stevenage with a 3-0 victory. Barnsley edged past Crewe Alexandra 3-2, Millwall won 1-0 at Cambridge United, Middlesbrough beat Doncaster Rovers 3-1 and Norwich City eliminated Cardiff City with a 2-1 victory.

Hull City required penalties to overcome Stoke City after a 1-1 draw. Robert Bozenik put Stoke ahead before Kieran Dowell equalised on the stroke of half-time, and Hull converted all five of their penalties to win the shoot-out 5-4.

Leyton Orient also advanced from the spot, defeating Walsall 6-5 on penalties after their tie ended goalless. The Carabao Cup round-up contains the principal results and stories from Tuesday’s ties.

Celtic Suffer an Extraordinary European Collapse

Tuesday provided a night Celtic will want to forget.

Martin O’Neill’s team travelled to Austria protecting a 3-0 first-leg advantage over LASK in their Champions League play-off. When Callum McGregor put Celtic ahead in the return match, the Scottish champions led 4-0 on aggregate and appeared certain to reach the league phase.

What followed was an astonishing collapse.

LASK scored five unanswered goals, including two in extra time, to win the second leg 5-1 and the tie 5-4 on aggregate. Celtic had gone from holding a four-goal advantage to elimination, while LASK secured a place in the Champions League proper for the first time.

Celtic will instead enter the Europa League, but that will provide little consolation after surrendering such a commanding position. UEFA’s play-off summary described the Austrian side’s comeback as a memorable night in the club’s history.

Spurs and Everton Cruise Through

Tottenham Hotspur and Everton encountered few problems in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup matches.

Mikey Moore and Dominic Solanke gave Tottenham control against Charlton Athletic before Kevin Danso, Sávio and Ben Davies added further goals. Lloyd Jones headed a late consolation for Charlton, but Spurs progressed with a comprehensive 5-1 victory.

Sávio marked his Tottenham debut with a goal and an influential performance from the bench, providing an immediate demonstration of the attacking threat he could bring to the side.

Everton were equally impressive at Preston North End. Thierno Barry scored a hat-trick and then created the fourth goal for Brennan Johnson as David Moyes enjoyed a successful return to his former club. Barry now has four goals from his opening two appearances of the season, offering encouragement that he can become a more consistent presence in Everton’s attack.

Newcastle United had a much more demanding evening against West Bromwich Albion. Isaac Price gave the visitors an early lead before Bazoumana Touré equalised for Newcastle. Substitute Harvey Barnes put the hosts ahead shortly after half-time, but Price converted a penalty to make it 2-2.

Barnes struck again in the closing stages, completing a 3-2 victory and giving Matthias Jaissle his first competitive win as Newcastle manager.

Bradford Hold Their Nerve Against Burnley

Bradford City produced Wednesday’s most notable cup upset by eliminating Burnley on penalties.

The League One leaders defended with discipline throughout a goalless 90 minutes and then won the shoot-out 4-2. Burnley’s Zeki Amdouni struck the post before Bradford goalkeeper Jon McCracken saved from Jacob Bruun Larsen.

Adam Phillips converted the decisive penalty to send Bradford into the third round, where they will visit fellow League One club Leyton Orient. Bradford have now recorded four consecutive clean sheets, underlining the defensive organisation behind their encouraging start to the season.

The third-round draw produced several attractive ties. Liverpool will face Tottenham, Manchester United host Brighton and holders Manchester City meet Norwich City. Ipswich welcome Arsenal, Coventry face Aston Villa and Everton take on Wolves.

Sunderland will play Hull City, while Newcastle travel to Millwall. The remaining places will be determined by Thursday’s Chelsea against Luton Town and Fulham against AFC Wimbledon ties. The full draw and Wednesday results were confirmed following the final whistle.

Hearts Complete a Remarkable European Recovery

If Celtic’s European campaign produced despair, Hearts supplied the response Scottish football needed.

Following a 2-2 draw against Rapid Vienna at Tynecastle, Hearts fell behind in Austria when Ercan Kara scored for the hosts. Their position became even more difficult when Tomas Magnusson was sent off during the second half.

Despite playing with ten men, Hearts equalised through Pierre Landry Kaboré and forced extra time. Calvin Miller then produced an acrobatic finish to put the visitors ahead, only for Nenad Cvetković to score late and make it 2-2 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate.

The tie therefore moved to penalties, where goalkeeper Beau Reus became the Hearts hero. Reus saved two spot-kicks as the Edinburgh club won the shoot-out 4-3 and secured their place in the Conference League phase.

It was a display of resilience, discipline and composure from Hearts, particularly after the red card appeared to have left them facing elimination. The match report from Vienna records an extraordinary European night for the Jambos.

The midweek programme therefore ended with a striking contrast. Celtic surrendered what appeared to be an unassailable advantage, while ten-man Hearts repeatedly fought their way back into a tie that seemed to be slipping away. Add in Bradford’s penalty triumph, Brentford’s six goals and several emphatic Carabao Cup performances, and it was a midweek schedule containing rather more drama than anyone could reasonably have ordered.