Chelsea have booked their ticket to Wembley after emerging victorious at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. After surviving a heavy barrage of Liverpool attacks at Anfield, Chelsea managed to bring a 1-1 scoreline back to London for the second leg of the Football League Cup semi-final. The match remained 0-0 after 90 minutes and went into extra time, where a Branislav Ivanovic header would break the deadlock and seal Chelsea’s progression into the final.
José Mourinho is masterful at setting his squad up for success over two-legged cup ties. By looking at how the Chelsea XI were set up for the first leg away from home, it was clear to see that Mourinho structured a more conservative approach (Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Filipe Luis; Matic, Mikel; Willian, Fabregas, Hazard; Diego Costa). Chelsea seemed to sit back deep, absorb Liverpool pressure, and attempt to hit them on the counterattack. However when Eden Hazard converted a penalty as quickly as eighteen minutes into the match, the Blues tended to sit even further back and send less people forward for counterattacks. In turn, Liverpool constantly mauled Chelsea for the remainder of the match and were able to get an equalizer through Raheem Sterling. We defended well but were lucky to get out of Merseyside with a 1-1 draw and an away goal that could certainly come in handy.
Going into the return leg at Stamford Bridge, it was clear that Mourinho’s tactics were going to differ. He sent out a lineup consisting of Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Filipe Luis; Matic, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; and Diego Costa. Zouma came into the XI for Cahill who hasn’t been performing well of late, Fàbregas dropped into defensive midfield next to Matić, and Oscar started in the number 10 slot at the expense of John Obi Mikel. The plan was to take it right to Liverpool in front of the home fans, control the game, and maybe get an early goal. But it was never going to be that simple.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers starting XI included Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Lucas, Henderson, Moreno, Markovic, Gerrard, Coutinho, and Sterling.
It took less than five minutes for controversy to strike this tasty English cup tie, as Chelsea’s Willian tried a shot from a little over eighteen yards that was blocked by the trailing arm of an incoming Lucas Leiva, who was attempting to slide in front of the shot with the hopes of blocking it. However, referee Michael Oliver decided against giving handball.
After ten minutes Chelsea appeared to be dictating the tempo of the match with Liverpool looking to counterattack, which was just about the exact opposite of the first leg. Emre Can went down easily during a challenge with Costa right in front of the two managers, who were both standing on the edge of their respective technical areas. Costa seemed to step on his ankle as Can was down in pursuit of the loose ball. After lying on the ground in agony Can sprung up and got in the face of Diego Costa, but the small argument was quickly put to bed.
After a Chelsea attack had broken down, Steven Gerrard played a long ball in the direction of Raheem Sterling. Kurt Zouma attempted to jump up and send the ball back where it came from, but it sailed over his head allowing the pacey Englishman Sterling to ferociously break down the left hand side of an exposed Chelsea half. Sterling was eventually dispossessed on the edge of the penalty area by Zouma who was quick to make up for his mistake joined by a backtracking Nemanja Matić.
In the 22nd minute, Diego Costa was clearly fouled in the box by Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel. As he neared the touch line, a cheeky step over from Costa resulted in Skrtel sticking his foot in at the wrong time to produce the foul. It wasn’t the most cynical of fouls, and Costa certainly made the most of it as any striker would. Somehow though, the referee waved it away and play continued.
After a good spell of Liverpool possession, Gerrard brilliantly slid a long diagonal ball through the Chelsea defense to an oncoming Alberto Moreno, who shot straight at Courtois.
Coutinho went running past three Chelsea defenders and took an early shot on goal that was tremendously saved by the left foot of Thibaut Courtois.
On 34 minutes, a Gerrard layoff allowed Henderson to have a pop on the edge of the area but the shot was skied high and wide.
Filipe Luis and Oscar stood over the ball for a Chelsea free kick, the ladder opting to have the shot which ended up just wide of the far post. Just a minute later, Oscar dragged another shot from about 25 yards.
In the 41st minute referee Michael Oliver went to his pocket for the first time, giving Jordan Henderson a yellow card for repeatedly pulling and shoving Eden Hazard.
The last action of the first half included Phillipe Coutinho blazing past Fàbregas on the left side, cutting in and having a shot which hit the side netting.
HALF-TIME SCORE: CHELSEA 0-0 LIVERPOOL (1-1 Agg)
Just five minutes into the second half, Cesc Fàbregas made way for Ramires due to a hamstring injury suffered after simultaneously sliding into a challenge with John Terry.
A poor Liverpool pass was intercepted in a dangerous area by Oscar who looked to break but was then fouled by Lucas before releasing Costa. Skrtel would see the overhit through ball out of play with a sliding clearance. Diego Costa landed hard on Skrtel’s foot which resulted in the Slovakian defender swinging a boot at Costa while sat on the ground. A scuffle between the two ensued which was broken up by Chelsea captain John Terry. The resulting free kick was shot straight into the wall by Filipe Luis.
An injured Sakho slowed the game (which had begun to really heat up) down, he was replaced by Glen Johnson in the 57th minute.
Hazard went on a dazzling run from midfield, passing multiple defenders and striking a venomous shot with his weak foot that ended up flying wide right of the goal.
An aerial ball sent into the box from Filipe Luis was cleared, which then fell to Diego Costa. His shot took a deflection off of Skrtel but somehow Mignolet was able to make the save with his trailing legs as he dove to his right. Raheem Sterling immediately broke down the other end of the pitch and teed up Gerrard whose shot from about twenty yards was calmly caught by the safe hands of Courtois. This was comfortably the most intense period of the match.
So far in the match, Liverpool had tended to counter-attack through Raheem Sterling whenever they had the opportunity. His electrifying pace was being utilized by the Reds and it was clear that Brendan Rodgers had instructed Sterling, a right wing by trade, to be Liverpool’s lone striker up top for the night.
Oscar delivered a ball into the box for Costa but a sliding Henderson got in the way. The ball squirmed out into no mans land. Costa attempted to get any sort of touch on the loose ball that would deposit it into the back of the Liverpool net, but Mignolet rushed out and cleared the ball away from the penalty spot.
After a Henderson handball, the resulting free kick from Oscar was saved by Mignolet. He tried to shoot it over the wall and in as opposed to crossing it, hoping to catch Mignolet off guard but the Belgian refused to be outsmarted.
Mario Balotelli entered the game for Lazar Markovic on 70 minutes.
A poor Steven Gerrard shot after a decent spell of Liverpool possession bounced and was easily claimed by Courtois.
John Terry received a yellow card for sliding through the back of Sterling as he received a pass.
Azpilicueta replaced Filipe Luis after the Brazilian left back sustained a calf injury. He needed assistance walking off the pitch by the Chelsea medical staff.
Coutinho was knocked over near the penalty area, but retained possession of the ball. While seated on the ground he flicked it to an oncoming Gerrard who skied the volley.
At this point Mario Balotelli had engaged in physical battles with Nemanja Matić on numerous occasions. Nothing came of it, but it was a delightfully competitive situation to watch play out.
Hazard countered down the left hand side and teed up Diego Costa whose shot was blocked.
Chelsea countered once again. Just in front of midfield Hazard shot in an attempt to catch Mignolet off his line, but it was caught by the Liverpool keeper.
In the 88th minute, Sterling cut in on his right foot and had a shot that flew over the crossbar.
Ivanovic received a yellow card for tugging Coutinho’s shirt.
Tense moments as Chelsea applied pressure in stoppage time, but the score ended 0-0 after 90 minutes plus added time.
FULL-TIME SCORE: CHELSEA 0-0 LIVERPOOL (1-1 Agg)
During the break in between full time and the start of extra time, ‘Blue Is The Colour’ blared on the Stamford Bridge loudspeakers and most of the Chelsea fans joined in singing. The traveling Liverpool supporters impressively countered with ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ – the atmosphere was electric.
If the score had remained 0-0 by the end of the extra 30 minutes, Chelsea would’ve gone through to the final on away goals (1-1 Agg).
Three minutes into extra time, Hazard was fouled by Lucas. José Mourinho was livid near the technical area, and with good reason. It was baffling how Lucas could continue to concede bad fouls but still remained on just a yellow card.
Moments later, none of that would matter. Willian swung in a cross with the resulting free kick that was slammed home via the forehead of an uncontested Branislav Ivanovic past a helpless Simon Mignolet.
Stamford Bridge was then immediately serenaded with ‘Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be will be, We’re going to Wembley, Que Sera Sera…’ by the home fans, who did not stop singing until the final whistle.
On 100 minutes Sterling ran down the left side near the touchline and crossed to Henderson who terribly missed what was a fantastic chance to head home an equalizer.
Costa and Gerrard got into a scrap; Costa brought him to the ground and a shoving match ensued. Both players were shown a yellow card.
Rickie Lambert came on for Alberto Moreno in the 106th minute. Two minutes later Oscar was booked for a foul, and the ensuing free kick was cleared by Courtois. The Belgian then got into a scuffle with Skrtel who believed that he had been elbowed by the towering keeper.
Can was booked for a foul on Hazard during a counter attack. Skrtel was booked for a blatant foul on Diego Costa, who would have broken into acres of open space had he not been impeded by the Slovakian.
Drogba came on for Willian on 119 minutes.
FULL-TIME AFTER EXTRA-TIME: CHELSEA 1-0 LIVERPOOL (2-1 Agg)
GOALS: Ivanovic 94′
BOOKINGS: Henderson 42′, Lucas 53′, Terry 74′, Ivanovic 89′, Gerrard 103′, Costa 103′, Oscar 108′, Can 114′, Skrtel 117′
SUBSTITUTIONS: Ramires-Fàbregas 50′, Johnson-Sakho 57′, Balotelli-Markovic 70′, Azpilicueta-Filipe Luis 78′, Lambert-Moreno 106′, Drogba-Willian 119′
MANAGER REACTIONS:
Brendan Rodgers spoke to LFC TV after the final whistle. The Liverpool manager, who was very impressed with his side’s performance said, “I thought that over the two games we were the better side, but just failed to take our opportunities.” He went on to note that the level of his squads performance was immense, but he would have liked to come away with the win.
José Mourinho on the victory: “My view is that it was a big semi-final, two big games, this one was really big, with both teams at their limits and the result on the edge” said the legendary Chelsea boss. “The result speaks for itself, 1-1 there, 0-0 here, extra time and one goal to decide.” Regarding the atmosphere at the stadium today, José stated, “Chelsea supporters were fantastic today, the victory is for them. Last weekend’s defeat was ours, not the supporters.”
When a semi-final consisting of Chelsea and Liverpool became a possibility, lovers of football began licking their lips at the prospect of what would be an incredibly physical Capital One Cup tie between two detested rivals. The fans certainly got what they wanted, as it was a fixture that you couldn’t take your eye off of. Chelsea will play either Tottenham Hotspur or Sheffield United in the Football League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on 1st March 2015.
