Thomas Tuchel warns Chelsea Their League Cup semi-final against Tottenham is yet to finish after taking control of the tie with a 2-0 win in the first leg on Wednesday. Tuchel’s side are within walking distance of their first League Cup final appearance since 2019 after separating Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Kai Havertz put Chelsea ahead with a distracting strike, before Ben Davies’ own goal extended his lead before half-time. Although Chelsea were unable to outright beat their London rivals, they were strong favorites to reach the final against Liverpool or Arsenal at Tottenham for the second leg on 12 January.
The first leg of Liverpool’s semi-finals scheduled for Thursday has been postponed until next week following a significant coronavirus outbreak among Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
Chelsea’s win was their first in three games, building on their spirited fight with two goals to seal a 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Sunday.
“It feels like a deserved win, an excellent result because it reflects the game. We could have scored more but it is difficult to score against Tottenham,” Tuchel said.
“We created a lot, some big opportunities. On the upside everyone knows it’s going to be a tough match in the second leg. It’s not decided yet.”
With Romelu Lukaku back in the fold, Tuchel will hope he has navigated a storm that threatened to derail Chelsea’s season, once again looking far from his best.
Lukaku, Chelsea’s club record £97.5 million ($132 million) after signing from Inter Milan last year, was left for a Liverpool game after he gave an interview criticizing the way Tuchel used him Was.
But Tuchel said he had “quiet” talks with the Belgian striker on Monday and reinstated him in the squad to face Tottenham after issuing an apology.
“I was pretty sure he wasn’t affected. Even in the last days he seemed relaxed, okay with the situation and moved on mentally,” Tuchel said.
“Romelu can handle pressure and adversities, it was a good performance, he contributed a lot to our defensive set up and there were chances.”
– ‘It was a tough game’ –
Ironically, Lukaku’s return came against Tottenham boss Antonio Conte, who got the best out of him during a Serie A-winning spell together at Inter.
Conte returned to Chelsea in 2018 for the first time since being sacked despite winning the Premier League and FA Cup in his two-year reign.
The Italian claimed earlier this season that Chelsea have yet to figure out how to get the best out of Lukaku, but he has a lot of work to do with his team as evidenced by Tottenham’s stellar performances.
“It was a tough game. Chelsea were much better than us. If you compare the teams there is no comparison,” Conte said.
“Today we have seen the difference between the teams. If we think we are close (for Chelsea), I think we are not in the right way.”
Lukaku was greeted with a surprisingly little venom from Chelsea fans, a reception that probably helped his side get off to a right start in the fifth minute.
Japhet Tanganga put Emerson Royal in trouble inside the Tottenham half and Marcos Alonso steals the possession.
Alonso shifted his pass from Tanganga’s position to Havertz, whose close shot was deflected off Davinson Sanchez for his first goal since November 6.
Although Chelsea were without Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante when they tested positive for the coronavirus, the European champions dominated from start to finish.
publicized
Lukaku played a role in Chelsea’s second goal in the 34th minute as Sanchez fouled his persistence.
Hakim Ziyech’s free-kick should have been easily tackled by Tanganga, but the hapless centre-back headed straight for Davis, who had no chance of getting out of the way as it slammed into the net from his shoulder.
Topics mentioned in this article
,