Chelsea secured their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals in impressive fashion by beating Newcastle 4-2 in the aftermath after securing a last-minute 1-1 draw.
Callum Wilson had likely put Newcastle on the road to victory with his goal in the 16th minute, but Chelsea hit back in stoppage time to Mykhailo Mudryk.
They then looked at the fallout after Kieran Trippier, whose mistake allowed Mudryk to equalize, and Matt Ritchie missed from 12 yards.
Newcastle, runners-up last season, will have to wait a little longer to clinch their first trophy since 1969.
It’s an exciting opening. Chelsea were lucky not to be down to 10 men early on after Moises Caicedo’s poor tackle on Anthony Gordon. If VAR had been used at this level of the competition, the Ecuadorian would have seen red. Minutes later, Conor Gallagher’s shot from the edge of the box rattled Newcastle’s crossbar.
Coming from a Blues attack at the other end, a weak pass from Levi Colwill to Caicedo allowed Wilson to pass, who then passed the ball forward before Benoit Badiashile’s stumble allowed the striker to enter the box and calmly finish from beyond. Djordje Petrovic.
Win or lose, Eddie Howe would have been hoping to have got through the 90 minutes without any more injury problems, but early in the second half he saw star man Gordon hobble off.
Chelsea then threw on Christopher Nkunku, who finally, belatedly, made his debut for the club. But it was another substitute in Mudryk who equalised in stoppage-time, capitalising on a loose Trippier header to find the bottom corner. There was ugly scenes in the aftermath of the leveller, as a Chelsea fan invaded the ptich to confront goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
And Trippier made his night worse by missing his penalty, before Ritchie also missed from 12 yards, allowing Chelsea to succeed in the last four.
Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino:
“When we conceded it was our mistake and we dominated after. Overall we deserve [to win] and give full credit to the players because they always believed until the end. This type of thing in football you need some luck but always trying in this the luck can arrive, and the situation was amazing.
“It’s important. After winning you can see the whole squad on the pitch, players that are injured are all there together. It was an unbelievable feeling with the fans. It’s these types of games and situations that make us really believe, grow and improve. There’s still much to do and improve but step-by-step we are doing well and recovering players.”
Newcastle’s Eddie Howe:
“It hurts a lot. It’s a very big feeling at the end of the game against PSG. The guys were very committed, they gave it their all and we led for a long time.
“We defended well, but we didn’t get over the line.
“Every time we grant, we do it jointly and not individually. I think as a team defensively we were excellent.
“Our shape was so good and we denied them really clearcut chances. We had to make some changes again due to injuries. I can’t praise the players enough.”
Chelsea Wolves on Christmas Eve, live on Sky Sports Premier League from noon, kick-off at 1:00 p. m. They will then host Crystal Palace on Dec. 27, kicking off at 7:30 p. m.
Next up for Newcastle is another south to face Luton on Saturday, starting at 3:00 p. m. After Christmas, they host Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, starting at 12:30 p. m. m.