Chelsea progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-finals after defeating Newcastle United 4-2 on penalties kicks after drawing 1-1.
Callum Wilson’s strike early in the first half from a Benoit Badiashile mistake, before Mykhailo Mudryk struck late in second half injury time to take the game to penalties.
Kieran Trippier and Matt Ritchie missed their subsequent penalties to send Mauricio Pochettino’s side to the final four.
Here are five things we learned from the match…
Wilson punishes sloppy Chelsea
A multitude of Chelsea blunders helped put Newcastle ahead in the 16th minute. Firstly, Levi Colwill’s wayward pass was intercepted by Callum Wilson inside his own half. Then, Thiago Silva made no attempt to apprehend the England striker, dropping back as the Newcastle number nine came bearing down on him. To further compound things, Benoit Badiashile appeared to have it all under control after Englishman’s heavy touch, but the Frenchman’s unneeded chop ricocheted off his own leg back into Wilson’s path for the striker to finish. Disastrous play from the Blues.
Injury issues continue to plague both teams
With the festive football period seemingly becoming busier with every passing season, numerous clubs seem to have been struck with injury crises. Chelsea and Newcastle are not exempted from this, with both teams suffering plenty through long-term injuries to key players. Enzo Fernandez was replaced around the half an hour mark to much confusion, with the Argentine heading straight down the tunnel. Anthony Gordon was taken off moments after the half time interval to add to Eddie Howe’s increasingly large list of absentees.
Poor finishing lets Chelsea down again
By the time referee Jarred Gillett blew the full-time whistle, Newcastle had had only four shots in the entire match against Chelsea with two shots on target. The irony for the Magpies was that their first shot at Dorde Petrovic was their goal, whereas the Blues had yielded only four shots on target from 15 attempts. Despite a late equaliser taking the match to penalties, it was a painful watch for the boys in blue as they wasted chance after chance, with Pochettino dropping to his knees in disbelief throughout. No problem for the Blues through, who progressed thanks to penalties.
Nkunku finally makes Chelsea debut
In the 69th minute, Stamford Bridge rose to acclaim their latest star. After an injury-hit start to his Chelsea career, Christopher Nkunku had finally made his long-awaited debut for the Blues. Replacing fellow summer signing Nicholas Jackson, the Frenchman strutted onto the pitch to the loudest cheers of the night from the home faithful. That allusive debut goal for the west Londoners eluded the 26-year-old, but Pochettino will be delighted to see his forward finally getting some competitive minutes under his belt.
VAR not in use as potential red cards are missed
Minutes into the first half, Chelsea should have been down to ten men. Moises Caicedo dragged his studs down the back of Bruno Guimaraes’ achilles, with referee Jarred Gillett giving the Ecuadorian a yellow card. In truth it looked a dismissible offence, much like Levi Colwill’s challenge on Emil Krafth in the first period, with the Englishman’s studs catching the Swedish defender’s shin. Guimaraes himself was fortunate to get away with a yellow card for a high kick on Ian Maatsen deep in second half injury time. A game which VAR would have been of great use.
