Chelsea
moved into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup with an extra time win over
Everton in an incident filled clash at Goodison Park.
Both sides were reduced to ten men and both sides missed a penalty, but it
was Daniel Sturridge who wrapped up the tie in the 117th minute.
Deputising Everton goalkeeper, Jan Mucha, will come under scrutiny for both
goals, as he could not hold onto Salomon Kalou's first half effort, before
parrying the ball into the path of Sturridge for the winner.
Petr Cech saved Leighton Baines' penalty for the Blues who had Ross Turnbull
sent off in the second half, after Nicolas Anelka had blasted wide from the
penalty spot at 0-0.
Louis Saha brought the Toffee's level with a powerful header with time
running out in normal time, before Royston Drenthe was dismissed for a
second bookable offence in extra-time.
Andre Villas-Boas elected to name a blend of youth and experience before the
game, with David Luiz the only player to feature from Sunday's defeat.
Everton made five changes from their last-gasp win at Fulham but Saha
retained his place after scoring at Fulham.
After an end-to-end start, it was Chelsea who were handed the best
opportunity to break the deadlock when, after intricate work on the edge of
the area, John McEachran was brought down by Toffee's defender John
Heitinga.
The home side had no complaints and Anelka, one of the most experienced
players on the pitch, was the designated penalty taker.
But the 32-year-old hammered his spot kick wide of the mark, much to the
delight of the home supporters.
Despite the setback, Chelsea grew in confidence and got their breakthrough
just before half time after a disastrous moment for Everton's stand-in
goalkeeper.
The Slovak was playing in just his fifth game for the home side and failed
to keep hold of Kalou's tame effort, with the ball bobbling over the line.
Sent off
The game exploded into life on the hour mark, as Louis Saha was brought down
inside the area by Turnbull, who was sent off for his actions.
Romelu Lukaku, who produced an impressive first half display, was the man
sacrificed by Villas-Boas for Cech and his impact was instant.
The Czech international's first job was to face a penalty from Leighton
Baines and he was more than equal to the effort.
He saved the spot kick and the rebound while Everton frantically tried to
break the resolve but to no avail.
As Chelsea reorganised, the hosts looked to capitalise on their
man-advantage, with substitutions being made by both sides.
Royston Drenthe went close, hitting the top of the bar from a free-kick and
was proving to be a thorn in the visitors side.
As time appeared to be running out, Everton grabbed the goal that their
second-half performance deserved with Saha adding to his impressive tally
against the Stamford Bridge outfit.
The ball was whipped in from the right hand side by Seamus Coleman, with the
cross exquisitely met by the Frenchman, who powerfully headed past Cech.
The goal spurred Everton into life, with Saha, Drenthe and substitute Denis
Stracqualursi all going inches wide as the game moved into extra-time.
Fatigue
As fatigue began to set in, chances were limited in extra time, with the
home side unable to emulate their blistering finish to normal time.
After his earlier heroics, Drenthe's night ended prematurely as he was
dismissed for a second yellow card shortly after the restart of the second
half of extra-time.
With both teams down to ten men, Chelsea re-established their attacking
intent and Anelka almost made amends for his earlier penalty miss but his
shot struck the inside of the post and rolled agonisingly across the face of
goal.
Branislav Ivanovic also tested Mucha from range as the goalkeeper tipped
over a powerful effort, but Chelsea were growing in confidence.
Daniel Sturridge made their persistence count with three minutes to go as he
pounced on another error from Mucha, who could not hold onto a long-range
effort from Florent Malouda.
It was a hammer blow for the hosts, who will rue missed chances towards the
end of the 90 minutes, but Chelsea progress to the last eight with their
fellow Premier League title rivals.
Teams
Everton
Mucha, Neville (Hibbert 46), Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Bilyaletdinov
(Coleman 81), Fellaini, Cahill, Rodwell (Stacqualursi 78), Drenthe, Saha
Subs Not Used
Hahnemann,
Barkley, Osman, Vellios
Booked
Fellaini, Drenthe
Sent Off
Drenthe
Goals
Saha 83
Chelsea
Turnbull,
Ivanovic, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand, Malouda, Romeu, McEachran (Mikel 64),
Anelka, Lukaku (Cech 60), Kalou (Sturridge 85)
Subs Not Used
Lampard, Torres, Mata, Ferreira
Booked
Alex, Mikel
Sent Off
Turnbull
Goals
Kalou 38, Sturridge 116
Attendance
23,170
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