Chelsea vs Newcastle United. Carabao Cup Quarter-Final.
Stamford BridgeAttendance38,058.
Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties.
Report and free highlights from the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash between Chelsea and Newcastle United and Stamford Bridge as misses from Kieran Trippier and Matt Ritchie allowed the Blues to win on penalties.
Wednesday 20 December 2023 06:20, UK
Chelsea secured their passage into the Carabao Cup semi-finals in dramatic fashion as they beat Newcastle 4-2 on penalties after snatching a late 1-1 draw.
Callum Wilson had seemingly set Newcastle on course for victory with his 16th-minute goal, but Chelsea struck back in stoppage-time through Mykhailo Mudryk.
They then won on spot-kicks after Kieran Trippier - whose error allowed Mudryk in for the equaliser - and Matt Ritchie missed from 12 yards.
Newcastle, last season's beaten finalists, will have to continue their wait for a first trophy since 1969 for a bit longer.
It was an enthralling opening. Chelsea were lucky not to find themselves down to 10 men early on after a really poor challenge from Moises Caicedo on Anthony Gordon. Were VAR in use at this stage of the competition, the Ecuadorian would have surely seen red. Minutes later, Conor Gallagher's dipping effort from the edge of the box rattled the Newcastle crossbar.
The goal for Newcastle was a gift from Chelsea. Coming from a Blues attack down the other end, Levi Colwill's loose pass in the direction of Caicedo allowed Wilson in, who then ran the ball forward before Benoit Badiashile's stumble allowed the striker into the box to finish coolly past 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 saw his night get worse as he missed his penalty, before Ritchie also failed from 12 yards, allowing Chelsea to reach the final 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 similar feeling to the end of the PSG game. The lads had committed so much, gave everything and we led for so long.
"We'd defended really, really well but we didn't get over the line.
"Whenever we concede we concede collectively not individually. I thought as a team defensively today 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 visit Wolves on Christmas Eve, live on Sky Sports Premier League from midday, kick-off 1pm. They then host Crystal Palace on December 27, kick-off 7.30pm.
Next up for Newcastle is another trip south to face Luton on Saturday, kick-off 3pm. After Christmas, they then host Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, kick-off 12.30pm.
