(Video): Watch all the highlights as Middlesbrough stuns Chelsea in Carabao Cup final
Mauricio Pochettino remained positive after Chelsea’s defeat to Middlesbrough
Mauricio Pochettino remained positive after Chelsea’s defeat to Middlesbrough
Chelsea will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit at Stamford Bridge after they were stunned by Championship side Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men lost a League Cup match to lower-league opposition for the first time since 1999, but the former Tottenham head coach believes his side played well.
He said: “Today the pressure was good and intensity, we cannot say anything.
“We made some mistakes in the first half, we gave them chances to scores and then they were so aggressive and tough. They play in the transition with the counter-attack and in a block really deep and it was difficult for us to break down.
“We had too many chances to score when we didn’t score, that is football. We are disappointed but it is the first half of the tie. We need to be positive.”
Chelsea missed several big chances in the match and enjoyed 72% possession at the Riverside Stadium, but it was not enough to down Michael Carrick’s resilient squad.
Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea: Hackney punishes wasteful Blues
Poch, 51, added: “If you assess the performance, then overall we were the better side, we created more chances and had the clear chances.
“But, we didn’t score. That has happened this season and there has been a lot of games we have not won because we were not clinical enough.
“We have a lack of goals, but not creating chances. We are creating many chances but not scoring them and if you don’t score then it is difficult to win.”
The Blues will have the chance to make up for their mistakes in the capital on January 23, with a place in the final at Wembley on the cards and within touching distance for both sides.
Chelsea striker Cole Palmer squandered a hat-trick of chances as Hayden Hackney handed Sky Bet Championship Middlesbrough a priceless first-leg lead in their Carabao Cup semi-final.
The England international, who had earlier been denied by Boro keeper Tom Glover, passed up three opportunities either side of Hackney’s 37th-minute strike, which ensured Michael Carrick’s men will head for Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time with a 1-0 lead.
On a night when the 2004 winners managed to frustrate the side who beat them in the 1998 final for long periods, the big-spending Premier League club failed to find top gear despite boss Mauricio Pochettino naming a strong starting line-up.
For their part, the Teessiders were organised, dogged and a threat on the break, and reaped the rewards three days after suffering a heartbreaking late defeat by top-flight Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
The visitors’ goal came under threat within seconds of kick-off when Colwill’s poorly-directed header delivered the ball straight into the path of Emmanuel Latte Lath, although the striker scuffed his shot straight at keeper Djordje Petrovic as defender Axel Disasi tried desperately to close him down and caught him in his follow-through.
The Boro frontman struggled on after treatment, but eventually limped off to be replaced by Josh Coburn with just five minutes gone.
Palmer forced Glover into a full-length save as Chelsea responded, but with widemen Isaiah Jones and Alex Bangura – whose evening was ended prematurely minutes later by a hamstring injury – enjoying the space afforded to them, the Teessiders made early inroads.
The occasional flurry from Noni Madueke aside, neither team was able to create a chance of note until Colwill headed over from Palmer’s 29th-minute cross, but Jonny Howson was fortunate to get away with a dreadful crossfield pass which put Palmer in on goal two minutes later, only for the 21-year-old to drag his shot wastefully wide.
Chelsea were made to pay with eight minutes of the first half remaining when Dan Barlaser played Jones in behind Colwill and he crossed to Hackney at the near post to stab past Petrovic.
Palmer had two glorious opportunities to level in stoppage time when he spooned the ball over the top after Glover had spilled Enzo Fernandez’s shot from distance, and then failed to beat the keeper after cutting inside from the right.
The visitors remained patient on their return but largely played in front of Boro, who looked comfortable in their shape as they protected a precious advantage with little fuss.
Madueke headed straight at Glover from Fernandez’s 53rd-minute cross and then flashed the ball dangerously across goal after worming his way in from the right, and Gallagher fired wide on the turn eight minutes later amid relentless pressure.
Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were introduced with little sign of an equaliser imminent and after Barlaser had shot high and wide from a pacy counter-attack, Glover needed two attempts to collect Mudryk’s 73rd-minute attempt.
However, that was as good as it got for Pochettino’s misfiring side, who have work to do on home soil in the deciding leg.
Leave a Reply