FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea sealed their place in the Carabao Cup final with a 6-1 victory at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday, prevailing 6-2 on aggregate.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side put in one of their best performances of the 2023/24 season so far to advance to Wembley and completely flatten Boro’s hopes of a cup upset.
The Blues will take on either Liverpool or Fulham in the final next month, with the Reds taking a 2-1 lead to Craven Cottage on Wednesday.
How the game unfolded
Though Middlesbrough controlled the opening stages, Chelsea nearly took the lead early on. Thiago Silva’s long ball over the top picked out the run of the returning Ben Chilwell, who beat goalkeeper Thomas Glover to the pass but looped his header over the bar.
The Blues broke the deadlock and tied the score on aggregate on 15 minutes. Chilwell’s adventurous run infield saw him skip past a couple of Middlesbrough defenders and slip in Raheem Sterling. The winger then squared for Armando Broja to tap home, though the Albanian’s first touch was poor and the retreating Jonny Howson appeared to get a telling touch as the ball trickled into an empty net.
Boro nearly scored almost immediately down the other end via a corner, with Morgan Rogers making his way into the box and firing towards the near post, only to be denied by a low save from Djordje Petrovic.
Chelsea’s second goal came just before the half-hour mark. Sterling’s clever flick found Axel Disasi on the overlap, and though Broja’s shot was miscued from the resulting cross, Enzo Fernandez was on hand to slot the the ball home.
A third soon followed as Chelsea took control of the tie. Disasi won the ball back high up the pitch after a sloppy pass from Matt Clarke and darted towards the penalty area, converting from a low Sterling cross.
There was still time for Chelsea to add a fourth before the break, with Hayden Hackney’s loose pass to Dan Barlaser pounced upon by Cole Palmer on the edge of the Boro box. The Blues’ player of the season so far coolly stroked the ball into the bottom corner.
On the other side of half-time, Levi Colwill went close to grabbing a fifth, lashing a fierce effort narrowly past the post.
Boro nearly shot themselves in the foot when Dael Fry’s first touch on the edge of the six-yard box was stolen Sterling, with the defender recovering in time to deny him an open goal.
Chelsea’s fifth came courtesy of Palmer, who was on hand to steer in a low cutback from Conor Gallagher after Middlesbrough turned the ball…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…