With a dominant first half performance, Chelsea destroyed Middlesbrough to win 6-2 overall and guarantee a spot in the Carabao Cup final against either Liverpool or Fulham.
After surprising the Blues with a 1-0 victory at Riverside Stadium in the first leg, Boro had real hopes of being the first EFL team to defeat a Premier League team in the semi-finals since Bradford eliminated Aston Villa eleven years prior.
However, goals from Cole Palmer, Axel Disasi, Enzo Fernandez, and Jonny Howson, as well as an own goal, put an end to those aspirations for Chelsea before the half.
Palmer and Noni Madueke punished Michael Carrick’s team for mistakes in the second half, which resulted in the last two of those four goals. Boro had been caught playing out of the back.
Despite an uneven season, Chelsea has won five of its past six games. its supporters can look forward to Mauricio Pochettino’s debut season at the club as he attempts to win silverware on February 25 when the team travels to Wembley. Morgan Rogers added a late consolation goal for Boro.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said after the game:
“Sometimes we can think about the history of Chelsea and the missing players.
“We are young and we need to grow. These types of games are a good experience for young players and it is about now growing and it will help us to compete.
“We are building a very good team. The mentality is good. We have plenty but we need time.
“It is a new project. We are building a team and sometimes it is normal to play worse. We played well and we didn’t win but now it will be a big boost for us.
“People need to believe and trust in us and we go to the final with the chance of winning the first trophy of the season.”
Meanwhile Boro manager Michael Carrick said he was “hugely disappointed” with the outcome, before going on to say: “The game unravelled quite quickly. It was brutal really.
“I feel massively for the players. We came here with hopes and in the end, we got punished.
“But massively proud of the players. They stuck at it in the second half, which isn’t easy. No one wavered, everyone stuck together and it was a real show of our spirit.”
Chelsea will play their FA Cup return match at Stamford Bridge against Aston Villa in the fourth round next on January 26 before taking a trip to Liverpool in the Premier League on January 31.
After almost two weeks off, Middlesbrough will host their next match in the Championship against their Northeast rivals, Sunderland on February 4.
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