That’s your lot, then. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
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Eddie Howe – downcast but as usual philosophical - speaks to Sky Sports. “It hurts a lot … it’s a very similar game to the Paris end-of-game feeling where the lads had committed so much, given everything and led for so long, defended really well but didn’t get over the line … whenever we concede, we concede collectively, we don’t concede individually … as a team we were excellent, our shape was so good … it was a heroic effort … I can’t praise the players enough … we probably weren’t as good technically in the second half … we lost our threat … Botman was planned, 45 minutes was a nice step for him … Krafth took a knock … Gordon took a nasty looking knock … I haven’t seen it myself but people are telling me that [Caicedo’s challenge on Gordon] is a red card … we go to Luton and that’ll be an emotional game.”
Mauricio Pochettino talks to Sky: “It was an unbelievable game … we suffered … when we conceded, it was our mistake … after we conceded we dominated … we deserved it … always you need some luck … but if you always try the luck can arrive … the players deserved credit because they worked hard … this type of game make us believe and grow … there are things to do and improve … the players are still so young … look at the age, and they took responsibility … we are creating a bond … it takes time … we need to keep pushing, working and believing … Enzo Fernandez felt sick before the game … after the start of the game it was not going well … we hope it is not a big thing … Levi Colwill was more tactical but he was tired … he will be ready for the next game, no problem.”
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle (Newcastle win 4-2 on penalties). Jacob Steinberg was there to witness Kieran Trippier’s night to forget, as Chelsea squeaked through to the semis.
Everton 1-1 Fulham (Fulham win 7-6 on penalties). Andy Hunter was at Goodison as Fulham made it to the semis for the very first time.
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Port Vale 0-3 Middlesbrough. Jamie Jackson was at Vale Park, as the 2003 champions reached the semi-finals 20 years on.
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… and so we now know the identity of three of the four semi-finalists. Into the velvet bag go Middlesbrough, Fulham and Chelsea. They’ll be joined by either Liverpool or West Ham United, who face off at Anfield tomorrow night. The draw will be made after that game. We’ll have all that covered, naturally.
FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties)
Chelsea were a couple of minutes of going out. But they’re in the semi-finals yet again! Poor Kieran Trippier. But on the balance of play overall, it’s no more than Chelsea deserve.
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PENALTIES: Chelsea 4-2 Newcastle. Ritchie has to score. He doesn’t, though. He aims for the top right, and Petrovic, having guessed correctly, palms the weak effort away.
PENALTIES: Chelsea 4-2 Newcastle. Mudryk, whose late, late, late goal took us all here, sends Dubravka the wrong way and whips into the bottom left. Unstoppable.
PENALTIES: Chelsea 3-2 Newcastle. Guimaraes needs to score or Newcastle are in all sorts. He takes a deep breath, and … casually rolls the ball into the bottom right, having sent Petrovic the wrong way with his eyes. What moxie!
PENALTIES: Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle. Nkunku, on his Chelsea debut, lashes into the top left. Not stopping that one!
PENALTIES: Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle. Trippier, who made the mistake that sent the game to penalties, looks pensive as he walks up to the spot. What pressure. And he buckles, sending his effort wide left. This is a horror show for a player seriously out of form.
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PENALTIES: Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle. Gallagher, Chelsea’s captain, up next for the hosts. He goes top left. Dubravka is never reaching it.
PENALTIES: Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle. Wilson up first for Toon. He sends the ball towards the top right. Petrovic no chance.
PENALTIES: Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle. Palmer whips into the bottom right. Dubravka went the right way, but couldn’t reach. Palmer shushes the Newcastle fans.
Back at Stamford Bridge, Newcastle win the toss to take the kicks in front of their own fans … but lose the next toss, and Chelsea will go first. Here we go, then!
FULL TIME: Everton 1-1 Fulham (Fulham win 7-6 on penalties). Amadou Onana had a kick to win it for Everton, only for his weak effort to be scooped by Bernd Leno. On to sudden death, and when Idrissa Gueye hit the post, Tosin Adarabioyo slotted to knock Everton out. Fulham make it to the semis for the first time in their history!
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It looked as though Benoît Badiashile’s clumsy mistake had cost Chelsea a place in the semis. Now it’s all about Kieran Trippier’s weird error in stoppage time. Over to penalties, then. Speaking of which …
FULL TIME: Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
Penalties it is!
90 min +5: Now Guimaraes is booked for a late charge on Maatsen. He’ll miss the first leg of the semi if Newcastle make it.
90 min +4: Gallagher is booked for scything down Caicedo. Meanwhile replays show some idiot coming onto the pitch to celebrate in Dubravka’s face, then shove him in the chest.
90 min +3: That was an absolutely abysmal error by Trippier, who is costing Newcastle goals at an alarming rate right now. Penalties ahoy!
GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle (Mudryk 90+2)
Another Trippier mistake costs Newcastle dear! A Gusto cross from the right flank. There’s no danger, but Trippier, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, tries to head back to his keeper. He only succeeds in cushioning the ball down for Mudryk, who appears from behind before slamming past Dubravka and into the bottom right! What A Defensive Fiasco II.
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90 min +1: The first of four additional minutes passes by.
90 min: Gallagher dribbles into the box from the right. He brushes past Livramento and goes over. He wants a penalty. He doesn’t get one. He should really receive a yellow card for simulation instead, but the referee simply waves play on.
88 min: A cross from the Chelsea left. Livramento dives to deflect it away from goal, only to nearly plant a header into the top left, past a rooted Dubravka. Inches wide from personal disaster. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
87 min: Wilson is booked for stopping Caicedo taking a quick free kick, then rolling around the floor complaining, having quite rightly been shoved out of the way. It is panto season, after all.
85 min: Gusto races down the right and cuts a dangerous ball back into the box. Lascelles shanks it behind for a corner that leads to nothing. Dubravka hasn’t had a serious save to make for a while. On the touchline, Mauricio Pochettinho frowns with great concern.
84 min: Chelsea can’t get into any sort of rhythm at Stamford Bridge. Newcastle looking assured for the first time in the second half.
FULL TIME: Port Vale 0-3 Middlesbrough. The 2003 champions reach the semi-finals two decades on!
FULL TIME: Everton 1-1 Fulham. It’s penalties at Goodison. Will Jordan Pickford or Bernd Leno be the hero?
81 min: A rare spell of Newcastle possession. They do nothing with it, but that’s not the point. Chelsea lose a little momentum, and the clock ticks on.
79 min: Chelsea make a double change: Disasi and Sterling – the latter Chelsea’s best player tonight – make way for Maatsen and Mudryk.
77 min: As Chelsea continue to fruitlessly press forward, here’s Kári Tulinius with news of some old-school fun and games at Goodison: “A few minutes after Everton’s equalizer, Tarkowski decided to elbow Muniz in the face while the referee was focusing elsewhere. Since the law didn’t seem to notice, Muniz decided to settle things in the old style, and kicked Tarkowski in the shin while facing away from him. Silva then decided to take his forward off before things escalated further.”
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75 min: Miley is stripped of possession as he drives in from the left. He wants a free kick but he’s not getting one. And it’s nearly costly for Newcastle, as Sterling and Nkuku tear off on a two-on-one! Sterling romps down the middle, and will surely release Nkuku to his left … but overhits the pass and sends his new team-mate away from the danger zone. What a chance that was!
73 min: Newcastle continue to struggle to keep hold of the ball. “Wor lads look tired and need a lift,” observes Alun Pugh. “Does anybody know of any energy drinks?” Broon?
71 min: Nkunku’s entrance has re-energised Stamford Bridge. The hosts continue to power forward … only for the mood to turn sour when Sterling is booked for swan-diving over Trippier’s leg.
69 min: After waiting since the summer, Nkunku comes on for his Chelsea debut at last. He replaces Jackson.
GOAL! Everton 1-1 Fulham (Beto 82). It’s no more than Everton deserve on the balance of play this evening. Beto scores his third goal for his new club – some pinball in the box, the ball eventually spooning up six yards out for the big striker to head home - and Goodison Park is eight minutes plus stoppages away from a penalty shoot-out.
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66 min: Chelsea continue to hog possession. They’re being held at arm’s length at the moment.
64 min: Newcastle are struggling to keep hold of the ball. Chelsea keep coming at them. A reminder that a draw tonight will take us straight to penalties.
62 min: Sterling jinks his way into the Newcastle box down the middle, draws a couple of defenders, then tees up Broja to his right. But faced with a tight angle, the striker hesitates and can’t get a shot away.
60 min: Caicedo dallies on the ball 30 yards from his own goal and is extremely fortunate that Longstaff can’t control when attempting to take it off his toe. Chelsea have been the dominant team tonight, but it’s mistakes that threaten to undo them.
58 min: Gusto bombs up the middle of the pitch only to be stripped by Miley, who makes up all sorts of ground from behind before easing his way into possession. What a prospect this young man is.
56 min: Sterling comes in from the right and has a crack. Dubravka, at full stretch, gets down to stop the shot going into the bottom left. Chelsea are beginning to play at last and Stamford Bridge gets seriously loud for the first time this evening.
55 min: Broja drives his way down the left with purpose. He reaches the byline but can’t get past Trippier. No matter, Chelsea come again. Broja picks up a Gusto pass just inside the box on the same flank. He rolls infield for Jackson, who threads a shot towards the bottom left. With Dubravka beaten all ends up, the ball rolls inches wide.
53 min: Caicedo doesn’t care and sportingly offers his condolences to the stricken Gordon, who can’t continue and is replaced by Ritchie. Whether that’s got anything to do with his early challenge is unclear. Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way, the initial tackle was really poor; his sporting behaviour here is to be commended.
51 min: Gordon goes down now and Chelsea play on. They’re within their rights, but Caicedo takes pity and puts the ball out of play. The home fans barrack their own man. A couple of his team-mates show their displeasure as well.
50 min: Palmer shimmies down the inside-left channel and has a dig from 25 yards. It deflects wide for a corner. The hosts play it short and waste it. Newcastle try to break, and launch a long pass down the right that, under normal circumstances, Gordon would have hared after. But he pulls up limping. He’s not been right since the restart. A legacy of the Caicedo challenge?
48 min: Chelsea have picked up where they left off: enjoying most of the possession, but not doing a great deal with it.
47 min: A free kick for Chelsea down the left. Everyone gets into the Newcastle box. Gallagher curls in but can’t beat the first man. Sterling tries to resurrect the attack with a cross from the right, but overcooks it and sends it out for a goal kick.
Newcastle get the second half underway. Both teams have made changes: Chelsea replace Colwill, who had been struggling towards the end of the first half after picking up a knock, with Gusto; Newcastle swap out Botman and Krafth for Burn and Trippier.
GOAL! Port Vale 0-3 Middlesbrough (Crooks 53). If Boro weren’t already in the semis, they are now. The Championship side extend their lead over their League One hosts as Matt Crooks picks up the ball on the left-hand edge of the D, nudges infield, and spanks one into the bottom left. Game over.
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Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 0-1 Newcastle
… and so all three of tonight’s quarter-finals are led by the away team at the break.
45 min +4: Silva quarterbacks a sensational pass from the centre spot towards Broja on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. Broja connects, but only manages to float a weak effort into Dubravka’s arms. The flag pops up to spare the striker’s blushes.
45 min +3: Colwill goes in late on Krafth. Studs on shin. For the second time tonight, Chelsea are extremely lucky there’s no VAR. Had there been, there’s a fair chance they’d now be down to nine.
45 min +1: The aforementioned corner, having been half cleared, is hoicked back into the box by Gallagher, who up-and-unders from the right flank. Disasi heads over from six yards, and trotting back upfield, wears the look of a man who thinks he should have worked the keeper at the very least. A big chance.
45 min: Sterling has been the best player on the park. He drives down the inside-right channel and finds Jackson infield. Jackson’s low shot pings off a defender and out for a corner, from which nothing comes. There will be three added minutes.
44 min: Sterling dribbles hard down the right. He tugs back a cross for Gallagher, who attempts to steer a shot into the bottom right but can’t force the ball through a thicket of defenders.
43 min: Stamford Bridge is pretty quiet right now. A lot of frustration as the home heroes toil. Speaking of which … “It’s so windy at Goodison, that Dychean crosses get blown off course,” notes Kári Tulinius. “Fulham, meanwhile kept it on floor for their first major attack and got their reward, flukey as their goal ultimately turned out to be.”
41 min: Wilson, Almiron and Krafth combine down the right on two occasions in quick succession. First up they tee up Guimaraes, whose shot is blocked by Colwill; the next time Krafth reaches the byline but his low fizzing cross fails to find a team-mate. Better from Newcastle, who have been quiet in attack for a while. Since the goal, really.
40 min: Sterling tries to tear past Livramento on the outside down the right. He nearly gets round, but the full-back shows a wiliness that belies his youth and holds the winger off before drawing a foul.
38 min: Chelsea have the ball in the net, but it won’t count. Palmer releases Broja down the inside-right channel, Broja floats a chip over Dubravka and in. But the flag goes up. No VAR to double-check, of course, but replays show Broja was well off.
HALF TIME: Port Vale 0-2 Middlesbrough. The 2003 winners have one foot in the semi-finals, 20 years on.
36 min: Almiron claims to be the victim of a slight nibble by Caicedo, who wants to watch himself after that early booking. Good luck getting him to change his all-action style, though.
HALF TIME: Everton 0-1 Fulham. As things stand, Everton’s long wait for a maiden League Cup victory will go on.
33 min: Sterling one-twos his way into the Newcastle box down the middle. He’s eased off the ball. He wants a penalty, but he’s not getting one, and a reminder that there’s no VAR. Sterling seemingly on a one-man mission to haul his team level.
32 min: Back at Stamford Bridge, Fernandez has picked up a knock and is replaced by Broja. Guimaraes is down, too, having taken a whack in his special area while blocking that Sterling shot. He’s up again soon enough, though.
GOAL! Everton 0-1 Fulham (Keane og 41). Willian drives down the left. He feeds Robinson on the overlap. Robinson crosses low and hard, and the ball deflects off the stooping Keane, wrongfooting Pickford and flying into the net.
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29 min: … and Sterling comes close again as he takes a touch in a crowded box, nudges the ball to his right, the unleashes a shot from eight yards. He’s surely scored! But somehow Guimaraes blocks on the line and clears!
28 min: Sterling dribbles into the Newcastle box down the left. He opens his body and steers a shot across Dubravka … but inches wide of the right-hand post.
27 min: Gordon has the chance to release Wilson down the middle again, but Badiashile is the hero this time, stepping in to intercept at the vital moment.
25 min: Chelsea have enjoyed 82 percent of possession since Wilson’s opening goal.
23 min: Palmer, buoyed by his chewing-gum antics during the warm-up, sashays in from the right and fires a low shot towards the bottom right. Easy for Dubravka. Then Sterling makes good down the left and wins a corner. That comes to nothing as well, but this is better from Chelsea.
21 min: Silva is a class act. Like that’s breaking news. Wilson slides a pass out to the left for Livramento, who would be striding clear on goal down the channel were it not for Silva’s last-ditch, perfectly timed slide tackle. What an intervention!
20 min: Stamford Bridge is already a little bit on edge as a result of that goal. Quite a few groans from the home support as Chelsea fail to respond immediately. The away fans are giving it plenty, though.
18 min: It’s Callum Wilson’s 100th appearance for Newcastle tonight. What a way to celebrate it. He bustled down the middle with great power and grace, latching onto a misplaced pass, then hassling the defence into a mistake. At the end, an exquisite finish. It might have been a Chelsea fiasco, but it was textbook forward play from Newcastle’s number nine.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Newcastle (Wilson 16)
Colwill fails to find Caicedo in the centre circle. Wilson tears off with the ball. He reaches the edge of the box but looks to have been crowded out by Badiashile, who steps in front of him, seemingly in control. But instead of dealing with the situation, Badiashile lets the ball clank off his shin. Wilson nicks it off him, and dinks across Petrovic and into the bottom left. What a fiasco from Chelsea’s perspective!
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15 min: It’s played short, then Jackson fails to win a header at the near stick when it’s eventually delivered into the mixer.
14 min: Chelsea come back at Newcastle with some patient passing. Gallagher then releases Disasi into space down the right, and the full-back wins another Chelsea corner. Fernandez to take.
GOAL! Port Vale 0-2 Middlesbrough (Rogers 23). Boro are already in full control of their quarter-final at Vale Park. A ball from the inside-right channel is pulled back into the path of Morgan Rogers, who opens his body and steers a glorious, ice-cool shot into the bottom right from the edge of the box. The Port Vale keeper didn’t budge an inch.
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10 min: Krafth curls in low from the right. Wilson can’t connect, having overrun the cross six yards out. The ball breaks back into a pocket of space, but Gordon doesn’t anticipate. Had he been on the front foot, he’d have surely been slamming home from 12 yards.
9 min: That near miss came against the run of play. Newcastle had looked the more coherent side during the early exchanges, their press causing Chelsea all sorts of palpitations as they played out from the back.
7 min: … the ball is played back to Gallagher, on the left-hand corner of the D. He takes a touch, opens his body, and curls a stunner towards the top right. Dubravka is beaten all ends up, but the ball pings off the crossbar and away. Chelsea inches away from taking an early lead! Somewhere in the multiverse, they’re one up and down to ten men.
6 min: Disasi creams a pass down the right flank for Jackson, who enters the box, performs a double stepover, then slams a shot from a tight angle into Botman. The ball’s deflected out for a corner, from which …
4 min: That was a really poor challenge by Caicedo, and Gordon is lucky he’s not been seriously hurt. That might have lit a fire, though, and not long after getting back up, he’s pearling a shot goalwards from the left-hand edge of the D. Disasi does well to close him down and deflect over for a corner, from which nothing comes.
2 min: Caicedo studs the back of Gordon’s standing leg. It’s a needless, careless challenge, and a potentially dangerous one to boot. Just a yellow, and Caicedo is lucky there’s no VAR tonight, because he’d surely have been walking upon a second look.
GOAL! Port Vale 0-1 Middlesbrough (Howson 11). An early setback for the League One club at Vale Park as Jonny Howson gives Boro the lead. A deflected shot from distance.
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Chelsea get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Shed End during this first half.
The teams are out at Stamford Bridge! A classic, old-school look: Chelsea in royal blue, Newcastle in black and white. The Hughie Gallacher derby. One there for the centenarians among you internet kids. We’ll be off in a minute or two.
The matches at Goodison Park and Vale Park have kicked off. No goals yet. More when we have it. Meanwhile in lieu of action, a fresh-breathed snippet from Stamford Bridge as Cole Palmer, warming up, hocks up a ball of chewing gum, lets it fall, flicks it up twice with his boot, and nearly catches it with his mouth. A competitive creature to his bones, he’s half wryly amused, half gutted when it pings off his chin and down to the floor.
Mauricio Pochettino talks to Sky. “It will be really important for us … we need to deserve it, to play well, to score goals and be really tough … we are facing a Champions League team so it will be so, so difficult … but after the momentum of the weekend it is positive … we cannot be consistent and that is what we want to be for the future … it is important for us to go through to the semi-final … it is going to be really competitive but I am very positive … we are ready to compete … we grow into many things, sometimes it is not easy to see from outside but from inside we are starting to see things that are very positive … we have impact players on the bench for the second half … today could be a good opportunity for [Christopher Nkunku] to feel the grass.”
Eddie Howe speaks to Sky Sports: “We’ve picked what we feel is a really strong team … we are limited by what we can do with the injuries we have got but still believe the squad is strong … we don’t think [Joelinton and Schar] have serious injuries … we hope they’re both back pretty soon but certainly aren’t ready for tonight … we’re determined today to try to do well again … we’ve grown really fond of this competition … we’ve had a tough run of fixtures and this will be another really tough game … [Botman] is a big player for us … very good on the ball … an absolute beast … we’re delighted to see him back … we’ve got to make a good start to this game … we’re here to progress.”
The 7.45pm teams
There are two other League Cup quarter-finals being played tonight. Marco Silva returns to Goodison Park with his Fulham side to take on in-form Everton … and it’s been a fair old while since we’ve been able to string those three words together. Everton have never won this competition, but with true Dychean determination, they’ve turned into one of the hottest teams in the land since being handed that ten-point deduction, so perhaps this is their time.
The other tie features the only two non-Premier League teams left in the pot. Port Vale of League One are playing in their first-ever League Cup quarter-final. They host Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough, who lifted this trophy on 2003. Both games kick off at 7.45pm. I’ll try to keep you posted as much as I can, in an ersatz Clockwatch style. Here are the teams …
Everton: Pickford, Patterson, Branthwaite, Keane, Tarkowski, McNeil, Harrison, Gueye, Onana, Garner, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Danjuma, Virginia, Beto, Godfrey, Chermiti, Lonergan, Hunt, Dobbin, Metcalfe.
Fulham: Leno, Tete, Adarabioyo, Bassey, Robinson, Joao Palhinha, Reed, Wilson, Iwobi, Willian, Rodrigo Muniz.
Subs: Rodak, Cairney, Ballo-Toure, De Cordova-Reid, Andreas Pereira, Castagne, Lukic, Vinicius, Diop.
Port Vale: Ripley, Debrah, Lowe, Balmer, Massey, Ojo, Arblaster, Grant, Devine, Chislett, Garrity.
Subs: Sang, Smith, Loft, Ikpeazu, Leutwiler, Iacovitti, Walters, Dipepa, Lomax.
Middlesbrough: Glover, Dijksteel, Fry, Clarke, Engel, Howson, Barlaser, Rogers, Crooks, Silvera, Latte Lath.
Subs: Isaiah Jones, Gilbert, Coulson, Bangura, Jamie Jones, Nkrumah, Kavanagh, McCabe, Akono Bilongo.
Chelsea make just one change from the starting XI sent out to beat Sheffield United 2-0 at the weekend. Enzo Fernandez comes in for Mykhailo Mudryk.
Newcastle make three changes to their starting XI in the wake of their 3-0 Premier League victory over Fulham. Sven Botman and Lewis Miley come in for the injured pair of Fabian Schar and Joelinton. Emil Krafth meanwhile replaces Dan Burn, who drops to the bench.
The teams
Chelsea: Petrovic, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Colwill, Gallagher, Caicedo, Palmer, Fernandez, Sterling, Jackson.
Subs: Mudryk, Bettinelli, Nkunku, Broja, Gusto, Maatsen, Gilchrist, Bergstrom, Matos.
Newcastle United: Dubravka, Krafth, Lascelles, Botman, Livramento, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Miley, Almiron, Wilson, Gordon.
Subs: Trippier, Dummett, Ritchie, Karius, Hall, Gillespie, Burn, Alex Murphy.
Referee: Jarred Gillett (Australia).
One change to your Chelsea XI! 🫵🔵@ParimatchUK | #CFC | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/ClwHSdtPQh
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 19, 2023
HOWAY NEWCASTLE! ✊#CHENEW // #NUFC pic.twitter.com/5Bj9BDSHgF
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) December 19, 2023
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Preamble
People don’t half love trash-talking the League Cup … until they get to the quarters, at which point the three-handled jug snaps into focus. Chelsea could do with a trophy to see them through a period of relative struggle; Newcastle are still dreaming of that first domestic pot since 1955. Neither will be turning up their noses at the chance of contesting a two-legged semi in the New Year. A 90-minute shootout – no extra time, straight to penalties if necessary – kicks off at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
