Carabao Cup: Kai Havertz and freakish own goal sees Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur in first leg semi-final

Kai Havertz opened the scoring before a comical Ben Davies own goal saw the Blues run out 2-0 winners in the first leg semi-final of the Carabao Cup.

Kai Havertz opens the scoring for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final. (Twitter: @ChelseaFC)
By Shayne Dias | Jan 6, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday (January 5).

Kai Havertz opened the scoring before a comical Ben Davies own goal saw the Blues take a 2-0 advantage into the second leg.

It was a routine win for Thomas Tuchel’s men, who have been having things tough lately. A poor run of results coincided with an unauthorised interview from star striker Romelu Lukaku; in it, he seemingly questioned the coach’s tactics and also said he would one day return to former club Inter Milan.

The interview resulted in him being fined and forced to issue an apology. As such, it was little surprise to see him restored to the starting line-up against Spurs.

READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel reveals striker Romelu Lukaku will be ‘fined’

That being said, the match will be remembered as much for Chelsea’s wastefulness. They ran out 2-0 winners but the scoreline could and should have been so much more.

Lukaku and goalscorer Havertz both missed key chances, as did Timo Werner later in the game. Indeed, one can argue that Spurs still have one foot in the game given the number of chances Chelsea squandered.

But that’s not to say Spurs performed well; far from it, in fact. They were pourous defensively and up front, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min were anonymous.

Antonio Conte, once a Chelsea manager, cut a mostly forlorn figure on the touchline. And he will be well aware of the size of the task at hand if they are to overturn this deficit.

How Chelsea took hold of Carabao Cup semi-final

The match looked all but over in the first half itself. Havertz’s goal, a result of Spurs being open, came in just the fifth minute. Chelsea would continue to push for a second but, when it came, it owed very little to a Blues player.

Ziyech floated in a free-kick that Japhaet Tanganga rushed to head out. However, his header bounced off Davies and went into the back of the net. To complete the tragi-comedy, no Chelsea player was in the vicinity of the ball.

Thereafter, it became a case of damage limitation for Spurs. And while they did not concede, this was down more to Chelsea being wasteful.

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Lukaku nodded a header wide before the stroke of half-time, whereas the likes of Mason Mount saw shots from distance blocked. And Spurs did improve in the second half, but Chelsea again looked likelier to score.

Ziyech missed a couple of good chances, as did Werner coming off the bench. Lukaku bookended the night with a tame shot at Lloris that summed up the night for Chelsea.

Nevertheless, they are now in a good position to secure a spot in the cup final, where they will face either Arsenal or Liverpool.





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