Carabao Cup 2018/19: Three reasons why Chelsea beat Tottenham in the semi-finals

Chelsea beat Tottenham in the semi-finals of the Carabao cup

Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup final after a thrilling win over Spurs in the 2nd leg of the Semi-Final. Tottenham won the first-leg by 1-0 and entered the 2nd leg needing just a draw to qualify for the finals.

N’Golo Kante fired home the equalizing goal in the 2-legged fixture and Eden Hazard scored the second one to almost ensure Chelsea’s progress to the finals. But Fernando Llorente had other plans as his second-half goal took the tie into a penalty shootout.

Kepa denied Lucas Moura and Eric Dier in the penalty shootout while every Chelsea shootout taker scored to book a place in the finals.

The win was important for Sarri who during the weekend had demanded passion from his players. His public rant was not seen as a good one by the pundits across the globe, but the reaction shown by his team shows that it worked.

Here are the three reasons why Chelsea won.

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#1. Players respond to Sarri’s rant

Maurizio Sarri had a tough press conference after the Arsenal game. He failed to control his emotions and conveyed that his team had failed him. Sarri's team has been a mixed bag this season. The lack of a consistent striker has failed the team in many matches.

Hazard in the no.9 role was looking frustrated. But not on Thursday, as the team rallied to the manager’s call, ought for every ball and eventually came out winners. David Luiz played through pain in the match when he had got a knock from Eric Dier and that showed how much Chelsea players wanted this win.

As for Pochettino, trophies are still far away and no tangible success after doing such an amazing job at Spurs will not bode well for his CV. Hazard looked like the old Hazard dictating play at every opportunity. Even under Mourinho in 2005, the Chelsea revolution started with the League Cup and fans would hope another starts with this win under Sarri.

#2. Hazard delivers

Hazard was in good form in the semi-final game

Hazard has been not so happy with the forceful formation he has been part of in recent weeks. He is best suited for the wide left role or the no.10 role, but Sarri has been adamant at playing him as a striker.

But on Thursday Hazard got that chance to roam free on the left side and he showed what he can provide the team in terms of creativity. He was amazing in the first half and deservedly scored the second Chelsea goal.

He had gotten the license to roam around the attacking third and the Belgian play-maker is at his best when he gets this license. In the buildup to Chelsea’s second goal, Hazard switched the play to the right flank to Pedro and received it again to send the ball into the net. His ability to fill his teammates with enthusiasm in crucial matches with the kind of chances he creates is important for Chelsea in the upcoming games.

#3. Kante is a superman

The midfielder was the linchpin of Chelsea's attacking creativity

There is nothing that Kante can’t do. He can defend; he can attack; he can score goals; he can dictate play. Paulo Gazzaniga was wrong-footed when Kante fired the first goal for Chelsea.

There was no celebration from Kante as he knew that the job was not finished yet and he was pointing at his teammates to quickly start the match again and try and score the second goal.

Kante has been playing as a central midfielder under Sarri instead of the defensive midfield position which made him world famous.

He is a manager’s delight and hardly puts a foot wrong. Even in his new role, he realizes the importance of scoring goals and so has always given his 100% for the team. Kante’s work-rate fired his team up and Sarri got an excellent response from his players after his last weekend rant.