On Thursday night, Chelsea and Tottenham clashed in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. The first leg had finished 1-0 to Spurs. However, Chelsea turned the tie round by recording a 2-1 win in normal-time before progressing courtesy of a penalty shootout win.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri had been scathing of his team’s performance last time out against Arsenal and challenged them to produce a better display in this clash. The Blues did just that levelling the tie on 27 minutes.
Spurs failed to clear a corner kick and N’Golo Kante’s miss-hit shot from the edge of the Tottenham went through the legs of Pablo Gazzaniga in the visitor’s goal. The Blues doubled their lead on 38 minutes, as Eden Hazard finished a good a good team move to give the home side the lead on aggregate.
The visitors were back on level terms five minutes into the second period. Fernando Llorente got the better of Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz to head powerfully past Kepa. Hazard should have given the home side the lead after beating Serge Aurier, but could only fire an effort into the side-netting.
Llorente should have levelled the scores on the night when Christian Eriksen’s high through ball found the Spaniard through on goal. However, the veteran striker miss hit his effort wide of goal, despite having time to control the ball.
Chelsea missed some good chances through the likes of Olivier Giroud and Pedro, as Tottenham fought off the home side resiliently. Spurs came close to taking an aggregate lead on 67 minutes, as substitute Lucas Moura fired wide of the near post.
The home side could have won the tie in stoppage-time, as Olivier Giroud headed wide when positioned. The game was then settled on penalty kicks.
Eriksen, Willian, Erik Lamela and Cesar Azpilicueta scored their spot-kicks before Tottenham’s Eric Dier fired over with his kick. Jorginho scored with a rather cheeky spot-kick before Lucas Moura saw his effort saved by Kepa. Chelsea’s Brazilian centre-back David Luiz stepped-up and made no mistake with the decisive penalty kick.
Chelsea to face Manchester City in the final
Chelsea will now face Manchester City at Wembley on February 24th in the final of the competition. The Blues will be underdogs in the final against Pep Guardiola’s side, who are current holders of the competition.
For Spurs, the wait for potential silverware goes on. The north London club has now failed to win in a trophy in 11 years. Their last trophy came back in 2008 when they won the League Cup.
What is next for these two teams?
Both these teams are in action on Sunday in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Tottenham visit London rivals Crystal Palace, while Chelsea host Sheffield Wednesday at Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham will be looking to bounce back and maintain their chances of ending that aforementioned trophy drought. The fact that Tottenham has not won a trophy under Mauricio Pochettino has some raising question marks about the Argentinian ability to manage at the truly top level of the game.
Can Chelsea go on to win the Carabao Cup?
