The 2000–01 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 41st staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

The competition began on 22 August 2000, and ended with the final on 25 February 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley Stadium had been closed for a rebuild.

The tournament was won by Liverpool, who beat Birmingham City 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra-time. Robbie Fowler put Liverpool in front after half an hour but a Darren Purse penalty salvaged the game for Birmingham in the final minute of normal time.

This edition was the last with two-legged ties in the first two rounds.

First round The 70 First, Second and Third Division clubs compete from the first round. Each section is divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 1999–2000 season. Therefore, the 20th place from the Premier League in 2000, Watford was the top seed, and the club newly promoted to the Third Division, Kidderminster Harriers, were bottom seeds. The first legs took place on 22 and 23 August and the second legs on 5 and 6 September.

Tie noHome team(1st Leg) (2nd Leg) AggregateAway team1Crystal Palace(2–1) (0–0) 2–1Cardiff City2Colchester United(0–1) (4–1) 4–2Q.P.R.3Plymouth Argyle(1–2) (1–1) 2–3Bristol Rovers4Barnet(2–1) (1–3) 3–4Wycombe Wanderers5Bolton Wanderers(1–0) (1–3) 2–3Macclesfield Town6Brighton(1–2) (1–1) 2–3Millwall7Bristol City(2–2) (1–2) 3–4Brentford8Burnley(4–1) (2–3) 6–4Hartlepool United9Cambridge United(0–0) (0–1) 0–1Portsmouth10Crewe Alexandra(2–2) (2–1) 4–3Bury11Darlington(2–2) (2–1) 4–3Nottingham Forest12Gillingham(2–0) (2–3) 4–3Torquay United13Grimsby Town(2–0) (1–1) 3–1Carlisle United14Hull City(1–0) (0–2) 1–2Notts County15Leyton Orient(1–1) (2–0) 3–1Reading16Luton Town(0–0) (2–2) 2–2Peterborough UnitedLuton Town win on away goals17Mansfield Town(0–1) (3–0) 3–1Wrexham18Northampton Town(1–0) (1–4) 2–4Fulham19Norwich City(0–0) (2–1) 2–1A.F.C. Bournemouth20Oldham Athletic(1–0) (2–0) 3–0Huddersfield Town21Port Vale(1–2) (2–2) 3–4Chesterfield22Rochdale(1–1) (1–6) 2–7Blackburn Rovers23Rotherham United(0–1) (2–3) 2–4Barnsley24Sheffield United(6–1) (0–1) 6–2Lincoln City25Shrewsbury Town(1–0) (1–4) 2–4Preston North End26Southend United(0–5) (0–0) 0–5Birmingham City27Stockport County(0–1) (2–3) 2–4Blackpool28Swansea City(0–0) (1–2) 1–2West Bromwich Albion29Swindon Town(1–1) (2–1) 3–2Exeter City30Tranmere Rovers(3–0) (2–1) 5–1Halifax Town31Walsall(1–1) (1–0) 2–1Kidderminster Harriers32Watford(0–0) (3–0) 3–0Cheltenham Town33Wigan Athletic(1–0) (4–1) 5–1Scunthorpe United34Wolverhampton Wanderers(0–1) (3–1) 3–2Oxford United35York City(1–5) (0–0) 1–5Stoke City

Second round The 35 winners from the first round joined the Premier League clubs not participating in European competition along with Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday, the top two relegated teams from Premier League the last season. The ties were played over two legs, with the first legs from 19 to 20 September and the second legs on 26 and 27 September. Two second leg matches were played on 2 October.

Tie noHome team(1st Leg) (2nd Leg) AggregateAway team1Grimsby Town(3–2) (0–2) 3–4Wolverhampton Wanderers2Everton(1–1) (1–1) 2–2Bristol RoversAfter extra time – Bristol Rovers win 4 – 2 on penalties3Manchester City(1–1) (4–2) 5–3Gillingham4Newcastle United(2–0) (1–1) 3–1Leyton Orient5Southampton(2–1) (3–1) 5–2Mansfield Town6Stoke City(2–1) (3–4) 5–5Charlton AthleticStoke City win on away goals7Barnsley(4–0) (3–0) 7–0Crewe Alexandra8Blackburn Rovers(4–0) (1–1) 5–1Portsmouth9Brentford(0–0) (0–2) 0–2Tottenham Hotspur10Burnley(2–2) (1–1) 3–3Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace win on away goals11Chesterfield(1–0) (0–4) 1–4Fulham12Darlington(0–1) (2–7) 2–8Bradford City13Derby County(1–2) (4–2) 5–4West Bromwich Albion14Wimbledon(0–0) (2–1) 2–1Wigan Athletic15Middlesbrough(2–1) (3–1) 5–2Macclesfield Town16Millwall(2–0) (0–5) 2–5Ipswich Town17Norwich City(3–3) (5–0) 8–3Blackpool18Notts County(1–3) (2–0) 3–3WatfordWatford win on away goals19Oldham Athletic(1–3) (1–5) 2–8Sheffield Wednesday20Preston North End(1–3) (1–4) 2–7Coventry City21Sheffield United(3–0) (1–0) 4–0Colchester United22Sunderland(3–0) (2–1) 5–1Luton Town23Tranmere Rovers(1–1) (1–0) 2–1Swindon Town24Walsall(0–1) (1–1) 1–2West Ham United25Wycombe Wanderers(3–4) (0–1) 3–5Birmingham City

Third round The 25 winners from the second round joined the Premier League clubs participating in European competition in round three. Matches were played on 31 October and 1 November.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Arsenal1–2Ipswich Town1 November 20002Aston Villa0–1Manchester City1 November 20003Derby County3–0Norwich City1 November 20004Fulham3–2Wolverhampton Wanderers1 November 20005Leicester City0–3Crystal Palace1 November 20006Liverpool1–1Chelsea1 November 2000Liverpool win 2–1 after extra time7Newcastle United4–3Bradford City1 November 20008Sheffield Wednesday1–1Sheffield United1 November 2000Sheffield Wednesday win 2–1 after extra time9Southampton0–1Coventry City1 November 200010Stoke City3–2Barnsley1 November 200011Bristol Rovers1–2Sunderland31 October 200012Wimbledon1–0Middlesbrough31 October 200013Tottenham Hotspur1–3Birmingham City31 October 200014Tranmere Rovers3–2Leeds United31 October 200015Watford0–3Manchester United31 October 200016West Ham United2–0Blackburn Rovers31 October 2000

Fourth round The eight matches were played on 28 and 29 November.

Quarter-finals The four matches were played on 12, 13 and 19 December.

Semi-finals The semi-final draw was made in December 2000 after the conclusion of the quarter finals. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The first legs were played on 9 and 10 January and the second legs on 24 and 31 January 2001.

First leg

Second leg

Liverpool win 6–2 on aggregate.

Birmingham City win 4–2 on aggregate

Final

The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was played on 25 February 2001 and was contested between First Division side Birmingham City and Premier League team Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Liverpool won the game 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time.

Liverpool win 5–4 penalties

References

External links Official Carling Cup website Carling Cup at bbc.co.uk League Cup news, match reports and pictures on Reuters.co.uk Results on Soccerbase