Chelsea have progressed to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup after beating Newcastle on penalties. The game finished 1-1 after normal time but the Blues triumphed via a shootout to reach the last four.
Chelsea were perhaps fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men after just a couple of minutes when Moises Caicedo was only given a yellow card for a late challenge on Anthony Gordon. The Blues dominated early possession but it was the Magpies who struck first.
Benoit Badiashile was guilty of a huge error, with Wilson stealing the ball off the Frenchman and finishing expertly. Newcastle rarely troubled the Chelsea goal afterwards, with the hosts continuing to have large amounts of the ball but unable to make it count in the final third.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side huffed and puffed and finally broke through in stoppage time when a Kieran Trippier error gave Mykhaylo Mudryk the chance to equalise. The game went to penalties and Chelsea won 4-2 and Express Sport looks at what we learned from the game at Stamford Bridge.
Maatsen snubbed
Chelsea were forced into a substitution at half-time when Levi Colwill went off injured. Ian Maatsen would have been the obvious choice to come on at left-back.
However, Pochettino instead opted to bring on Malo Gusto, playing the right-back out of position on the opposite side. Maatsen has been linked with a move away from Chelsea and this snub only fuels that speculation.
Chelsea activated a one-year clause in Maatsen’s contract to ensure he doesn’t leave for free. But a January exit could be on the horizon as he is clearly not at the forefront of his manager’s mind.
Pictures from the Carabao Cup clash between Chelsea and Newcastle
Lucky escape for Poch
The pressure will surely have been mounting on Pochettino if Chelsea lost tonight. It would have left the FA Cup as the only remaining trophy they could win this season.
Trophies have become synonymous with the west London club in the last 20 years and Pochettino knows he must produce. It looked like it wasn’t to be for the majority of the match.
It was the same old story in the final third. But Kieran Trippier’s error gave Pochettino a lucky escape and Chelsea live to fight another day.
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Caicedo lucky
Caicedo will be thankful that VAR was not in operation. The Ecuador star could have easily seen red in the opening stages.
He caught Gordon down the back of his calf with a nasty challenge. Jarred Gillet gave a yellow card but likely would have changed his mind if he saw it again.
The Sky Sports commentary team and punditry panel were in agreement that Caicedo should have been given his marching orders. The ยฃ115million-man composed himself for the remainder of the match but must eradicate that type of tackle from his game.
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