Sports

Middlesbrough beat Chelsea to take Carabao Cup semi-final lead

Middlesbrough will take a one-goal lead into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, following a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday night.

Hayden Hackney’s first-half finish for the Championship side put Middlesbrough in front to the delight of the home crowd, while Cole Palmer uncharacteristically spurned three excellent opportunities for the misfiring Premier League team.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team dominated possession but did not do enough to find the equaliser on the night and succumbed to a fifth away defeat in six matches, leaving themselves with work to do to reach the final at Wembley.

Speaking after the game, Hackney said: “We stuck to the plan and tried to keep it tight and catch them on the counter.

“It was a great ball, I just got on the end of it. I think we did really well tonight, but it’s a completely different game away from home. We will give it our best shot.”

READ ALSO: FA Cup: Man City to face Tottenham as Chelsea meet Aston Villa in fourth round

The player of the match, Isaiah Jones, added: “Because we were at home, we needed to use the crowd as our 12th man and I thought we did that with our early chances in the first half.

“We have belief. Hopefully, we can go there, get the win and go to Wembley.”

On his part, Middlesbrough manager, Michael Carrick, said: “It was very special. I know it’s a two-legged affair and it’s still all to play for. But given all that we have had to go through as a club, with the injuries and the squad being where it is at, to beat a team of Chelsea’s quality in any shape is unbelievable.

“The lads were exceptional tonight. Their effort was off the scale and it was an incredible night. Seeing the players fighting and scrapping together, bodies were everywhere at the end. It is a great feeling as I am really proud of them.”

Pochettino, who bemoaned missed chances, said: “Today, the approach was good. We can’t say anything about the attitude but we made mistakes in the first half and gave chances for them to score. They were aggressive and played on the transition. It was hard to break down this block.

“We had too many chances to score and that’s football. It’s only the first half of the tie and we have another 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge so we have to be positive.”

Middlesbrough are back in Championship action when they travel to Millwall on Saturday, January 13.

Chelsea, on the other hand, host Fulham at Stamford Bridge in a West London derby on Saturday.

The second leg of Carabao Cup semi-final will take place at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, January 23.

The Star

Segun Ojo

Recent Posts

FG begs Nigerians: We’ll stop frequent national grid collapse

The Federal Government has apologised to Nigerians over the recent collapse of the national grid…

5 hours ago

Oyo Assembly suspends LG chairman over viral video

The Oyo State House of Assembly has suspended the Chairman of Oyo East Local Government…

5 hours ago

EFCC recovers N248bn, $105m, secures 3,455 convictions in one year

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered over N248 billion, $105 million, and…

5 hours ago

Presidency to northern governors: Tax reform bills not against north

The Presidency says the tax reform bills before the National Assembly are not targeted at…

7 hours ago

BUA Foods records N1.07trn revenue, N333.82bn profit in 9 months

BUA Foods Plc has announced that its revenue and gross profit increased to N1.07 trillion…

8 hours ago

Uba Sani approves N72,000 minimum wage for Kaduna workers

Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has approved a new minimum wage of N72,000 for civil…

9 hours ago

This website uses cookies.