Carabao Cup, formerly the League Cup, is one of England’s top domestic competitions featuring teams from the Premier League to League Two. It was first held in the 1960-61 season, and Aston Villa were the first winners, beating Rotherham United 3-2 on aggregate. In the early years, cup winners received tankards, not medals.
Top 10 Goal Scorers in Carabao Cup: Key Points
- The Carabao Cup has had some legendary goal-scorers throughout its history.
- Arsenal legend Ian Wright is one of the top scorers in the competition with 17 goals in 18 games.
- Liverpool dominate the top scorers in the Carabao Cup; four of the top five all-time scorers are from the Premier League giants.
Top 10 Goal Scorers in Carabao Cup
In its modern format, the League Cup offers teams an added incentive beyond the trophy—automatic qualification for the UEFA Europa Conference League. This makes the competition more attractive to teams outside the traditional ‘big six’ in the Premier League.
Over the years, the League Cup has seen some of football’s best goal-scorers leave their mark. Here are the top ten all-time scorers in the League Cup, a competition that has always had a knack for producing prolific goal-getters.
| Top 10 Scorers in Carabao Cup History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Appearances | Goals | Trophies |
| 1 | Ian Rush | 75 | 46 | 5 |
| 2 | Robbie Fowler | 44 | 33 | 2 |
| 3 | Jermain Defoe | 37 | 22 | 1 |
| 4 | Sir Kenny Dalglish | 50 | 21 | 4 |
| 5 | Michael Owen | 24 | 19 | 3 |
| 6 | Alan Shearer | 31 | 19 | 0 |
| 7 | Frank Lampard | 42 | 18 | 2 |
| 8 | Jay Rodriguez | 32 | 18 | 0 |
| 9 | Nathan Ellington | 20 | 18 | 0 |
| 10 | Ian Wright | 18 | 17 | 1 |
