toptop
Eden
Hazard came off the bench to fire Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Carabao
Cup as they beat Bournemouth 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
For the second year in a row Chelsea hosted the Cherries in the last eight of
this competition, and for the second time in a row it was they who prevailed
thanks to Hazard's 84th-minute effort.
Bournemouth were targeting a last-four appearance for the first time in any
major cup competition, but it wasn't to be for them. While Chelsea will go on to
face Tottenham in the next round.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (7), Azpilicueta (7), Christensen (6), Rudiger (7), Emerson (6),
Fabregas (6), Kovacic (6), Barkley (6), Loftus-Cheek (7), Willian (6), Giroud
(6)
Subs: Hazard (7), Pedro (6), Luiz (n/a)
Bournemouth: Boruc (7), Cook (7), Simpson (7), Ake (7), Daniels (6), Ibe (5),
Rico (6), Stanislas (5), Brooks (6), Wilson (6), Mousset (6)
Subs: Fraser (6), King (n/a), Defoe (n/a)
Man of the match: Nathan Ake
Chelsea started brighter and Ross Barkley, Willian and Olivier Giroud all had a
go at testing Artur Boruc, while Bournemouth's only clear opening in the first
quarter fell the way of Callum Wilson, who was fed into the box by Lys Mousset
after a smart counter but fired wide.
As it happened
More opportunities continued to come at both ends as the game opened up. On 28
minutes a David Brooks goalbound effort was blocked by his own team-mate in
Mousset, while Chelsea then surged up the other end a couple of minutes later as
Ruben Loftus-Cheek found Willian in behind, but he was denied well by Boruc.
Team news
Both sides made plenty of changes from their weekend Premier League fixture.
Maurizio Sarri handed starts to Emerson, Andreas Christensen, Ross Barkley, Cesc
Fabregas, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Olivier Giroud, while Eden Hazard was on the
bench.
Callum Wilson and David Brooks both returned to Bournemouth's starting XI, while
Jack Simpson started at centre-back.
Mousset himself then forced Kepa into his first save of the night after 36
minutes as the Chelsea goalkeeper had to be at full stretch to tip his curling
effort from the edge of the box wide of the post.
As Chelsea's search for an opener continued, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek going
closest in the second half as he hit the post after 55 minutes, Maurizio Sarri
sent for reinforcements, with both Pedro and Hazard being introduced before the
hour mark.
And it was those two who combined for the winning goal as Pedro pulled the ball
back for Hazard in the area and he saw his effort deflected off the hand of
Charlie Daniels and past the helpless Boruc.
Post-match stats
Chelsea have qualified for the League Cup semi-finals in consecutive seasons for
the first time since 2007-08.
Chelsea have won all four of their League Cup meetings with Bournemouth, with
each of the last two coming in the quarter-final.
Bournemouth have lost seven of their last eight games in all competitions (W1),
failing to score in each of the last three.
Eden Hazard has had a hand in 19 goals in all competitions this season (10 goals
and nine assists); the most of any Premier League player.
Chelsea fired in 12 shots on target against Bournemouth; their most in a game in
any competition under Maurizio Sarri.
Man of the match: Nathan Ake
It's not often that you give the man of the match award to a defender on the
losing side in a cup tie, but Ake deserves it for the way he commanded the
backline and helped keep Chelsea at bay for so long. It was a terrific
performance from the Dutchman.
The managers
Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola: "It could have been a better [draw]
but we are in the semi-finals and we knew it would be a difficult game. But we
are happy because [Tottenham] gave us a footballing lesson [at Wembley] and we
are looking forward to challenging them again. I'm sure it will be a different
type of game.
"There are a lot of proud players in our team and they will want to show that
they were not the ones who played that game. In that game too many players
under-played and some of them were hurt. I am really pleased that we play
against them again. I can't wait."
Eddie Howe: "We were nervous at the start but once we settled down we were good
value. It was a discipline, defensive display. We countered and used the ball
well and that result could have been very different.
"We believed at 0-0 we could win the match. We had our moments but we couldn't
get the goal. We're disappointed we don't have anything to go away with."
What's next?
Both sides are back in Premier League action at home at 3pm on Saturday. Chelsea
host Leicester and Bournemouth face Brighton.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Kepa, Azpilicueta (c), Rudiger, Christensen (Luiz 81),
Emerson, Kovacic, Fabregas, Barkley (Hazard 61), Loftus-Cheek, Giroud, Willian
(Pedro 55)
Subs Not Used Caballero, Zappacosta, Kante, Hudson-Odoi
Booked Fabregas
Goals Hazard 84
AFC Bournemouth Boruc, S. Cook (c), Simpson, Daniels, Ibe,
Stanislas (Fraser 63), Brooks (Defoe 88), Ake, Rico, Wilson Mousset (King 73)
Subs Not Used Travers, Mings, Surman, Pugh
Booked Stanislas, Simpson
Goals
Attendance 40,432
Referee Anthony Taylor