Chelsea vs Southampton LIVE: Carabao Cup result, final score and penalty shootout reaction
Relive all the action live from Stamford Bridge
Chelsea needed penalties to advance in the Carabao Cup for a second consecutive round as they edged past Southampton with a 4-3 shoot-out victory at Stamford Bridge following a 1-1 draw.
Reece James again provided the decisive kick, just as he did against Aston Villa in the previous round, with Theo Walcott and Will Smallbone missing for the Saints.
Kai Havertz headed Chelsea into the lead seconds before half-time, guiding a header into the bottom corner from a corner.
But Southampton would force spot-kicks when Che Adams fired in on the rebound after Kyle Walker-Peters’ effort was saved by the legs of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Across London, Calum Chambers scored his first goal in more than two years before Eddie Nketiah punished his former club to send Arsenal into the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Leeds.
Chambers scored with his first touch of the night after coming off the bench to replace the injured Benjamin White 10 minutes into the second half.
And former Leeds loanee made sure of the Gunners’ place in the quarter-finals when he punished a mistake from Liam Cooper, whose defensive header never had the power to reach Illan Meslier.
Instead Nketiah skipped through, lifting the ball over the goalkeeper before watching his scuffed finish tuck just inside the post as Leeds defenders scrambled to get back.
The result means Arsenal have now won six of their last eight in all competitions, and are unbeaten since August.
It also went to penalties at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, where League One Sunderland dumped out QPR with a 3-1 shoot-out victory after a goalless draw.
Charlie Austin thought he had scored a late winner to send QPR into the last eight for the first time since 1988.
But a tight offside call went against the home side, and Austin’s misery continued when his spot-kick - the first of the shoot-out - was saved by Sunderland goalkeeper Lee Burge.
He was not the only culprit, though, with Ilias Chair and Yoann Barbet failing to find the target from the spot as QPR went out to League One opposition for a fourth year in a row.
Chelsea 0 - 0 Southampton
12 mins: Mateo Kovacic nicks the ball off Yan Valery in the middle of the pitch and Chelsea sweep forward on the counter-attack. Kovacic knocks the ball up to Barkley who takes it into the left side of the box. He passes it back to the edge of the area and Alonso runs onto a shot that gets blocked by Kyle Walker-Peters.
Chelsea 0 - 0 Southampton
9 mins: Moussa Djenepo nicely brings down a diagonal ball and nips in behind Hudson-Odoi. He brings the ball into the box but gets tackled by Reece James. Chelsea try to run the ball out from the back and Alonso is pressed well by the Saints who win a free kick over on the right side.
Stuart Armstrong flicks the free kick into the box but it’s headed behind for a corner that Chelsea deal with easily enough. Southampton are finding their feet in this match though.
Chelsea 0 - 0 Southampton
6 mins: SAVE! Huge save from Forster! Hudson-Odoi carries the ball to the byline and wins a corner for Chelsea when his cross is headed behind.
Barkley swings the cornern ball into the area and picks out Saul Niguez. He rises above everyone else to win the header and sends it strongly to the goalkeeper’s left but Forster leaps across and pushes the ball wide of the right-hand post.
Chelsea 0 - 0 Southampton
3 mins: Marcos Alonso is fouled just outside the box. Ross Barkley flicks the set piece into the penalty area and finds Kai Havertz over by the back post. He’s crowded out and passes the ball back to Callum Hudson-Odoi who cuts inside and has a shot stopped by Fraser Forster in Southampton’s goal.
Chelsea 0 - 0 Southampton
Kick off: Adam Armstrong gets the match underway for Southampton who confidently work the ball up the pitch. A cross into the box is headed clear by Malang Sarr and Chelsea take over possession.
Saints’ missing goalscorers
Armando Broja is Southampton’s co-leading scorer this season netting four times in four starts and four substitue appearances for the Saints. He became the first Albanian to score in the Premier League when he notched the winner against Leeds 10 days ago.
Southampton’s other leading scorer, Mohamed Elyounoussi, has also scored four times with three of them coming against League Two Newport in this competition.
Both players miss tonight’s match though. Ex-Celtic forward Elyounoussi has undergone a hand operation whilst Broja is ineligible to play in this fixture due to regulations governing his loan from Chelsea.
Chelsea’s League Cup history
Chelsea were the first London side to ever win the League Cup and they are also the most recent team from the capital to win it after beating Tottenham 2-0 in 2015.
Southampton’s best finishes were runners-up in 1978/79 and 2016/17.
If the Blues win tonight they will reach the quarter-finals for the first time since beating Frank Lampard’s Derby 3-2 at Stamford Bridge in 2018.
Southampton’s cup success
Southampton have scored 10 goals in their two League Cup games this season, that is as many as they had scored in their previous nine matches in the competition.
Only Preston (11) have found the back of the net more times.
Those 10 goals have been scored by seven different players, no side has had more goalscorers in the League Cup than Southampton this season.
The Saints are going to need them tonight.
Saints’ troubling travels
Southampton have failed to win any of their last nine games in London, losing six of them and drawing the other three.
They have only won two of their 11 games in the league and cup this season but have only lost three times. Chelsea’s 3-1 win over the Saints at the start of October was one of those defeats.
Prior to that match though Southampton were unbeaten in three games at Stamford Bridge which will give them a bit of hope this evening. However Thomas Tuchel’s men could make it successive home wins against the Saints for the first time since 2017.
Leagu Cup meetings: Chelsea vs Southampton
This is only the third (technically fourth) time the two teams have met in the League Cup and it is their first meeting in this competition for 24 years. Chelsea have won both previous fixtures.
The first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw in 1981 and had to be decided in a replay during which Mike Fillery headed home the winning goal in front of 27,000 fans at Stamford Bridge to send the Blues through in extra-time.
The next League Cup clash between Chelsea and Southampton came in 1997. Teenager Jody Morris also scored an extra-time winner for Chelsea to earn them a 2-1 win.
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