Carlos Alcaraz comes off the bench to send Everton into the League Cup last 16

One substitution, three minutes and a curling left-footed finish. That's how quickly Carlos Alcaraz settled what had looked like a stalemate: he came off the bench and needed barely that long to score the only goal of the match, sending Everton into the round of 16 of the 2026/2027 English League Cup.

The Argentine midfielder, who came through the ranks at Racing Club, entered in the 32nd minute of the second half in place of Hayden Hackney. He didn't need much more time to make his mark: he combined with Tyler Dibling, cut inside with a quick touch and curled a shot past the Wolverhampton goalkeeper to hand the win to David Moyes' side.

For Alcaraz it was more than just another goal: it's his first of the season, coming at a moment when he's fighting for a starting spot in Everton's lineup. A timely reminder of what he can do, arriving just when the team needed a moment of quality to keep moving forward in the competition.

An Everton side that isn't slowing down

Beyond the trip to the next round of the League Cup, the bigger story around Everton is their current form in the Premier League, where they remain unbeaten to start the season. The win over Wolverhampton confirms that Moyes' side is riding a strong run on multiple fronts at once.

Manager Mikel Arteta explained on Sky Sports why he chose to carefully manage certain players in the squad, including the Ecuadorian on the roster: he preferred not to risk players who weren't at their physical best.

Some players were showing fatigue, real issues that we need to address.Mikel Arteta

That same logic explains the absence of Piero Hincapié, who also didn't play last Saturday in the win over Sunderland in the Premier League, though he was included in the squad. The Ecuadorian defender had started in the impressive win over Napoli in the Champions League, so the rest isn't entirely surprising.

Now, the coaching staff will need to decide in the coming days whether Hincapié is ready to return to the starting lineup for Arsenal's match against Brighton, set for this Saturday in the Premier League. In the meantime, Everton is enjoying its spot in the next round and a Carlos Alcaraz who is starting to show why he arrived with a reputation as one of Argentine football's rising stars.