Carabao Cup: Chelsea Faces Arsenal In Semi Finals
Alvaro Morata scored an injury-time winner as Chelsea beat Bournemouth to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals, with boss Antonio Conte relieved to avoid a “dangerous” period of extra-time.
Willian opened the scoring, capping a fine team move which resulted in Cesc Fabregas squaring for the Brazilian to tap home.
Bournemouth thought they had forced extra-time when Dan Gosling curled home from the edge of the box in the final minute after being picked out by Callum Wilson.
But substitute Morata sent Conte’s team into the last four when he finished from Eden Hazard’s backheel.
Chelsea will play Arsenal in the semi-finals, hosting the first leg in the week commencing 8 January. The second leg is two weeks later. Manchester City play Bristol City in the other tie.
Conte said: “To play 30 minutes more would have been a bit dangerous. We had a great reaction. It’s not simple to concede a goal in the last minute of the game.
“When you have this reaction, it means you have players with great character and heart.”
All seven Premier League teams in the quarter-finals made wholesale changes, an average of 8.3 per side. And Chelsea were no exception, making eight switches from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Southampton.
The Blues will be delighted to be in the semi-finals of a cup they have won five times, although an experienced team of fringe players did not do much to stake a claim for a Premier League spot.
Teenager Ethan Ampadu, one of only two players in the team aged 21 or under, was impressive at centre-back, though.
Striker Michy Batshuayi and Kenedy were both involved in the goal for Willian, one of the few Premier League regulars in the team, and both recalled players missed chances.
Batshuayi was denied by a couple of last-ditch Steve Cook interceptions in the first half, with left wing-back Kenedy screwing a shot well wide after winning the ball from Adam Smith on the halfway line.
The Blues sat back in the second half, and invited pressure from Bournemouth.
Conte was obviously not too impressed with what he saw, and brought on Hazard, Tiemoue Bakayoko and then Morata in a bid to turn the tide.
And it was his star players who sent them into the last four. Moments after Bournemouth’s equaliser, Morata let a ball forward run to Hazard and moved towards the penalty spot, where he received the Belgian’s backheel before firing past Artur Boruc.
Conte said: “Last season, we were eliminated in the fourth round by West Ham. This season we must be happy with this achievement in reaching the semi-final of one of the two cups in England.
“It’s great for us, especially because we reached the semi-final with a lot of rotations. From the first game against Nottingham Forest I made a lot of rotations, and for this reason I am very happy.
“I had good responses from my players. In this cup, they showed they are very professional. I hope this game also improves the physical condition especially for the players who had injuries and who are not playing with regularity. It means we are working very well.”