Chelsea defeat Tottenham to reach Carabaro Cup Final

Last night was celebration galore in England as Chelsea are through to the finals of the Carabao Cup after they beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 on penalties following an enthralling 90 minutes encounter which saw the tie end 2-2 on aggregate.

The Blues will face Manchester City who beat Burton Albion 10-0 on aggregate in the other semi-finals in the finals on February 24th.

Trailing 1-0 from the semi-final first leg at Wembley a fortnight ago, Chelsea drew level on aggregate when the unmarked N’Golo Kante drilled in a first-time shot from 20 yards through three pairs of legs after a corner.

Eden Hazard, shot Chelsea into a 2-1 aggregate lead with an arrowed finish after being picked out by captain Cesar Azpilicueta.

Tottenham failed to produce a shot on target in the first half but forced the tie into penalties when Fernando Llorente converted Danny Rose’s cross.

After regulation time Chelsea scored all four of their spot kicks – Willian, Azpilicueta, Jorginho and David Luiz all keeping their composure.

In contrast, Tottenham missed two of their four kicks – Eric Dier, a World Cup penalty shootout hero for England in Russia, firing over the bar before Lucas Moura kick was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Prior to the shootout,Chelsea had lost four of their past five penalty shootouts in the tournament.

PFA: Iwobi reveals why he voted Kante as Player of the Year

Arsenal‘s Alex Iwobi has revealed that he voted N’golo Kante as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year over team mate, Alexis Sanchez due to his contribution Chelsea.

The Frenchman, who joined the Blues last summer after winning his first ever Premier League title with Leicester City clinched the award ahead of his teammate, Eden Hazard, who finished as the first runner-up on the voting chart.

Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic finished third behind the Chelsea duo of Kante and Hazard, followed by Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, and Tottenham’s Harry Kane.

And the Nigeria international claims the 26-year-old midfielder has got something every team would like to have in a player.

“He’s someone that works for the team and even though he’s a Chelsea player, you have to respect what he does,” Iwobi told Evening Standard.

“He works for the team and just runs non-stop – he’s got something every player would like to have. Every player would like to have him in their team.

“The engine, the energy he brings, the enthusiasm – he is my player of the season.”

Moses: Kante’s PFA Award Well Deserved

Nigeria forward Victor Moses has congratulated his Chelsea teammate N’Golo Kante who was voted Professional Football Association Players’ Player of the Year on Sunday.

Kante, 26, beat Eden Hazard, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexis Sanchez in the vote by his fellow players.

Moses expressed his delight playing alongside the diminutive French midfielder.
There have been debates on who deserves the award more between Kante and Hazard, but Moses is backing the midfielder.
“Congratulations N’Golo Kante on winning the PFA Player of the Year award. Well deserved and it’s a pleasure playing with you mate,” Moses wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Tottenham’s Dele Alli won the PFA young player prize for the second successive year while Manchester United and England legend David Beckham received the PFA’s Merit award.