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The feline invader who delayed the game at Anfield on Monday night is not the first animal interlocutor to cause havoc on the pitch

There’s a cat on the pitch. Does he think it’s all over? It is meow! It says much for the insipid nature of the football at Anfield on Monday night that one of the highlights of the evening was the feline pitch invasion that briefly delayed the game after 12 minutes.

The intrepid tabby is far from the first animal interlocutor to have stopped a game in full flow. An Old Firm game in November 1996 was halted by a fox in the box, who made quick his or her escape. “We were very impressed with the pace of the fox,” said Celtic public relations manager Peter McLean. “It still hasn’t been caught. We don’t know how it got in and how it escaped. We have even been given the brush-off by its agent.”

Real Madrid’s game against Betis at the Bernabéu in 1996-97 was delayed by a rabbit presumably thrown into the fray from the terraces. Real’s Carlos Secretatio was quick enough to catch it. “Secretario may or may be not a good player,” said TV commentator Arsénio Iglesias at the time, “but he is indeed a great hunter.”

But the animal kingdom and football are not always comfortable bed fellows. In November 1970 the Brentford goalkeeper Chic Brodie had his career ended after a dog on the pitch ran into him, shattering his kneecap. “The dog might have been a small one, but it just happened to be a solid one,” Brodie later reflected.

And as Torquay United, trailing to 2-1 to Crewe, stared down the barrel of relegation on the final day of the 1986-87 season a police dog named Bryn, who had been patrolling the touchline with his handler, bit Torquay’s Jim McNichol on the upper thigh. It took four minutes for play to restart after the injury and in the fourth minute of stoppage time United scored the goal that kept them in the Football League.

These and many more stories are recounted in our Knowledge archive – here and here.

LiverpoolPremier LeagueJohn Ashdown
guardian.co.uk

• Chelsea to host Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge
• United travel to Scunthorpe; Liverpool take on Northampton

Tottenham will host their north London neighbours Arsenal in the third round of the Carling Cup after this afternoon’s draw paired them together.

The two clubs last faced each other in the semi-finals of the competition in 2008, with Tottenham emerging victorious, winning a tumultuous second leg 5-1 at White Hart Lane. Then managed by Juande Ramos, they went on to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final.

Other ties of note include Newcastle United’s trip to Chelsea, while Blackburn Rovers will be looking for revenge for their semi-final defeat to Aston Villa last season when they travel to Villa Park.

Scunthorpe and Northampton Town face daunting games, the former hosting the holders Manchester United, and the latter taking on Liverpool at Anfield.

Carling Cup third round draw

Brentford v Everton

Portsmouth v Leicester

Stoke v Fulham

Chelsea v Newcastle

Aston Villa v Blackburn

Tottenham v Arsenal

Millwall v Ipswich

Wolves v Notts County

Burnley v Bolton

Birmingham v MK Dons

Liverpool v Northampton

Scunthorpe v Man Utd

West Brom v Man City

Sunderland v West Ham

Peterborough v Swansea

Wigan v Preston

Ties to be played week commencing 20 September

Carling CupTottenham HotspurArsenalChelseaNewcastle UnitedAston VillaBlackburn RoversMillwallIpswich TownScunthorpeManchester CityManchester UnitedBirmingham CityMK DonsNorthamptonLiverpoolBrentfordEvertonWolverhampton WanderersNotts CountyBurnleyBolton WanderersWest BromSunderlandWest Ham UnitedPortsmouthLeicester CityPeterboroughSwanseaWigan AthleticPreston North EndJacob Steinbergguardian.co.uk