Sports

Chelsea whip Middlesbrough 6-1 to reach Carabao Cup final

Chelsea, on Tuesday night, thrashed Middlesbrough with a rampant first-half display to record a 6-2 aggregate victory and clinch their place in the Carabao Cup final.

Chelsea will face either Liverpool or Fulham who meet on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, in the Carabao Cup final.

Middlesbrough stunned the Blues with a 1-0 win at the Riverside Stadium in the first leg and had genuine ambitions of becoming the first EFL side to eliminate Premier League opposition in the semi-finals since Bradford knocked out Aston Villa 11 years ago.

But Chelsea snuffed out those hopes before half-time thanks to Jonny Howson’s own goal, plus strikes from Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi, and Cole Palmer.

The latter two of those four goals came after Middlesbrough were caught playing out from the back and that pattern continued in the second half, with errors by Michael Carrick’s team punished by Palmer and Noni Madueke.

Morgan Rogers added a late consolation goal for Middlesbrough but, amid an inconsistent campaign, Chelsea have now won five of their last six matches, while their supporters can look forward to a trip to Wembley on February 25 as the club’s manager, Mauricio Pochettino, looks to win silverware in his first season at the club.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Pochettino said reaching the final is “really important” for his players, adding: “Sometimes we can think about the history of Chelsea and the missing players.

“We are young and we need to grow. These types of games are a good experience for young players and it is about now growing and it will help us to compete.

“We are building a very good team. The mentality is good. We have plenty but we need time.

“It is a new project. We are building a team and sometimes it is normal to play worse. We played well and we didn’t win but now it will be a big boost for us.

“People need to believe and trust in us and we go to the final with the chance of winning the first trophy of the season.”

On his part, Carrick admitted he was “hugely disappointed” with the outcome.

He said: “The game unravelled quite quickly. It was brutal really.

“I feel massively for the players. We came here with hopes and in the end, we got punished.

“But massively proud of the players. They stuck at it in the second half, which isn’t easy. No one wavered, everyone stuck together and it was a real show of our spirit.”

The Star