Chelsea and Liverpool had almost equally difficult days in front of net on Tuesday, struggling to score in regular time of their League Cup semifinal second leg. Because of the competition’s weird extra time and away goals rules, they had to play an extra 30 minutes. And in that extra period, Chelsea scored to seal their 1-0 win on the night, which sent them to Wembley with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
3 things we learned from Chelsea’s 1-0 triumph over Liverpool
The Blues will get a shot at a domestic cup, and await the winner of Tottenham vs. Sheffield United.
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Even though the game was light on goals, it certainly didn’t lack action. Both teams tried to score from the start, and throughout the game. At no point did either team look content with a draw, or willing to play conservatively and wait for their chances.
The Blues should have had a pair of penalties in the early going and got neither. Lucas wasn't spotted blocking a 6th minute Willian shot with his hand and Martin Skrtel wasn't penalized for hacking down Diego Costa in the 22nd minute. But the referee's unwillingness to blow the whistle didn't just benefit Liverpool -- Costa was lucky to not be sent off for a stomp on Emre Can in the 12th minute.
Thibaut Courtois made a pair of saves in the middle of the period, denying Alberto Moreno and Philippe Coutinho three minutes apart. Those were two of a handful of decent Liverpool chances, but the side trailing on away goals failed to capitalize.
Simon Mignolet had his turn to shine in the middle of the second half. He did well to deny Costa from close range in the 61st minute, then picked the ball off his feet again four minutes later. The second half was just as wide-open as the first, but again, there were no goals.
Chelsea’s breakthrough came in the 94th minute off a poorly defended free kick. Liverpool’s defense completely lost Branislav Ivanovic on an in-swinging Willian cross, and the Blues defender was allowed to nod in a free header to give his team a bit of insurance.
Liverpool's best opportunity to force penalties came in the 100th minute, when Jordan Henderson whiffed on a free header from eight yards. They would never get a better opportunity, and Chelsea hung on for the win.
Chelsea: Courtois, Luis (Azpilicueta 78'), Terry, Zouma, Ivanovic, Matic, Fabregas (Ramirez 50'), Hazard, Oscar, Willian (Drogba 119'), Costa
Goals: Ivanovic (94’)
Liverpool: Mignolet, Sakho (Johnson 57'), Skrtel, Can, Moreno (Lambert 106'), Lucas, Henderson, Markovic (Balotelli 70'), Coutinho, Gerrard, Sterling
Goals: None.
3 things
1. Kurt Zouma is entertaining for neutrals, stressful for Chelsea fans - The 20-year-old Frenchman might replace John Terry in the first choice Chelsea defense one day, but for now, he's still very raw. Even though Zouma's had nearly 100 professional games, he's still looking pretty raw. This isn't terribly surprising -- it's rare for central defenders to reach their potential before their mid-20s -- but it's still interesting to watch, and notable given that Chelsea only have three actual central defenders.
On multiple occasions in this match, much like his previous appearances, Zouma mistimed his jumps on headers and lost the attackers he was marking. The good news is that he’s so outrageously athletic that he was able to recover over and over again. If he ever figures out how to defend, he’s going to be a monster.
2. Both goalkeepers were excellent - Even though there were no goals in 90 minutes, it wasn't for a lack of chances. Thibaut Courtois was his characteristically excellent self in the Chelsea net, and he was surprisingly matched by Simon Mignolet. The Belgian was so poor at one point this season that he was benched for Brad Jones, who is arguably not up to replacement-level Premier League standards at all, but he put together his best game of the year on Tuesday. Chelsea deserved to score much earlier than they did, but he made a number of excellent stops.
3. Diego Costa continue to be a world class jerk - How often does Diego Costa commit a red card offense, or two yellow card offenses? It's about three out of every four games, right? And yet he never gets sent off, because he's better at being a huge jerk than anyone else. By the time his career is over, he probably will have escaped more deserved bookings for dirty plan than any other player in the history of the game.
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