Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE: Carabao Cup result, final score and reaction after Ben Davies’ own goal
Follow live reaction from Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between the London rivals
Chelsea seized control of their league cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, beating their London rivals 2-0 in the first leg on Wednesday thanks to an early strike by Kai Havertz and an own goal by Spurs defender Ben Davies.
The Blues swamped their visitors right from the kickoff and, after a mix-up in the Spurs defence in the fifth minute, Havertz fired an angled shot that was goal-bound before it went in off the foot of Davinson Sanchez.
Half an hour later, the dominant hosts got their second goal, albeit with a slice of luck, when Japhet Tanganga headed away a Hakim Ziyech free kick, only for the ball to rebound into the Spurs net off Davies’ shoulder.
The win dented the hopes of Spurs, under former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, of winning a first trophy since lifting the league cup in 2008. In that time, Chelsea have won 12 major trophies including three Premier League and two Champions League titles.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel restored record signing Romelu Lukaku to the team having dropped him for Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool as punishment for the Belgian saying in an interview that he was unhappy with his role at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku went close with a first-half header, created a chance for Ziyech after the break which the Moroccan wasted and hit an injury-time shot straight at Hugo Lloris.
Chelsea vs Tottenham: Team news
The big question for Thomas Tuchel relates to Romelu Lukaku, who was left out of the matchday squad for the draw against Liverpool and held talks with his manager on Monday after expressing his displeasure with his role at the club in an interview released last week.
The Belgian has apologised and will be back, but may start initially from the bench, while Edouard Mendy is definitely unavailable having departed for the African Cup of Nations. Trevoh Chalobah’s hamstring issue will be assessed having played 70 minutes of that Liverpool encounter, while Thiago Silva’s legs may be given more time to recover after he made his return.
Cristian Romero remains out for Spurs but should be back in action soon, while the unfortunate Ryan Sessegnon is well-acquainted with the Tottenham treatment table and a thigh issue seems set to rule him out.
Steven Bergwijn has been linked with a move away from the club in January and is also troubled by a recent injury, which could mean an opportunity for Bryan Gil, though with Morecambe reasonably lowly weekend FA Cup opposition, Antonio Conte may stick with something close to his strongest side.
Chelsea vs Tottenham: Predicted line-ups
Chelsea: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Sarr; Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Pulisic; Havertz
Tottenham: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Emerson Royal, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Son, Kane, Moura
Chelsea vs Tottenham: Odds
Chelsea - 42/41
Draw - 27/10
Tottenham - 29/10
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