Chelsea are through to the League Cup final!! What an achievement that is after a rough period for the club and for the fans.
We are now just one game away from lifting some silverware, and once again with all that has gone on of late, that would be incredible.
We were rather gifted by many Middlesbrough mistakes and naivety from the manager. But we looked clinical, we created chances, we pressed intensely, and we scored some very good goals tonight.
The second half was professional, until we allowed them to get their goal and ruin the clean-sheet. But all in all, Chelsea looked up for this tonight and they looked full of quality and confidence all over the pitch.
Chelsea finished with 63% possession and 6 shots on target, scoring all 6. We had 13 attempts on goal.
We didn’t really have to get out of third gear and when the chances were presented to us, we certainly took them.
Manager/Player Ratings
Mauricio Pochettino – 9
The best I’ve seen from Pochettino tonight. The starting lineup was perfect and unexpected. He dropped Conor Gallagher to put the extra attacker in from the start in order to go searching for goals. Players played in their natural positions (Levi Colwill and Ben Chilwell). And the setup was spot on, as were the subs. We have been crying out for him to be bold and brave and that’s exactly what he was in this game, and it completely paid off!
He handed yet another debut to an academy player in the shape of Leo Castledine, and I even think how he used Enzo Fernandez tonight was good. It got stick, but really when you look at it closely, Enzo was playing as a box-to-box number 8, which is one of his better positions to play in. He was advanced at times yes (and actually ended up scoring from one of those positions), but without the ball he was dropping alongside Moises Caicedo as well. It worked, and he certainly wasn’t playing as a 10 like many claimed.
Djordje Petrovic – 7
He had very little to do tonight really and couldn’t do much about their goal, which was a really good finish. His distribution was decent again and he did actually make a very good save in the first half too.
Axel Disasi – 9
Deserves all the credit and plaudits he is getting tonight, because his performance was superb. The way he steamed in to win possession for his goal, carried on with pace to then get on the end of it and provide a strikers finish, was just incredible. He was also pinnacle for Enzo’s goal. It’s not a criticism as such but he will be disappointed that he didn’t do more to block the shot on their goal, even though it was a great finish. But he was class tonight and deserves the praise.
Thiago Silva – 8
Just like with Palmer, I run out of words to describe this man. Another professional performance from the veteran who still just looks like a 25-year-old player. Consistently one of our best still.
Levi Colwill – 7
He had a good game and was solid, but I’ve marked him down slightly because his vision was completely off and he wasted possession overcooking about four passes in a row in the first half, which was disappointing. But he was decent defensively for sure.
Ben Chilwell – 8.5
Such a difference to have a good and natural full back on the pitch. Chilwell showed everything we have been missing out there as well as his influence and leadership. His diagonal runs caused issues, as well as inverting to join in possession. Very good game and should have been awarded a penalty too as well as being key to our first goal tonight.
Moises Caicedo – 7.5
Once again it was another tidy performance from a man who is becoming more and more comfortable by the day. His role is unsung but vital, and he was very good again tonight.
Enzo Fernandez – 8.5
As I said above, his box-to-box display tonight was huge for us, he really was an influence in everything good that we did. Got a goal too and was the orchestrator of all our possession.
Cole Palmer – 9.5 (POTM)
Running out of praise for this man as I said. He is certainly the real deal and he was so calm for his two goals tonight. He was also great on the ball with creativity, and his high pressing caused Boro so many problems. My Player of the Match, and also got given it by Sky Sports.
Raheem Sterling – 7.5
Nice influence on this game even if he did dip in and out of it at times. But his work on the right helped create two Chelsea goals and he was a real menace to the Boro defence.
Mykhailo Mudryk – 3
I think he might have passed to a team mate maybe twice all half. He lost possession so much I lost count. Nothing he tried came off, and he was just terrible I’m afraid.
Armando Broja – 6
He wasn’t really involved much at all and I thought he was very quiet. Not a terrible performance by any stretch, but he just didn’t really do anything of note and wasn’t involved enough. His mis-hit shot that ended up assisting Enzo’s goal says it all really.
Noni Madueke – 7
He did have some good moments but also kept losing the ball as well. Got his goal though and made a decent impact.
Alfie Gilchrist – 7
Very safe and sensible play from him and has the look of an assured regular first team player rather than the U21s captain.
Conor Gallagher – 8
Came on and made an impact, grabbing two assists and looking fully up for it. Way to silence some haters.
Conclusion
It was disappointing to concede a late goal after such an impressive scoreline. But I’m absolutely buzzing with that tonight.
It was such a relief to finally watch a Chelsea game with my feet up relaxing. We could just enjoy watching the lads play without any concerns and being completely comfortable. That was refreshing.
We did the job, and we did the job well. 1-0 down from the first leg could have easily messed with out minds if the game went on and we didn’t score. So getting those goals was vital and we showed quality to do that. I predicted a 2-0 win, so I’m more than ecstatic with 6-1!!
Off we go to Wembley!!! UTC!!!!
