Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger netted the only goal in an otherwise eventful game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. His goal, combined with the ones the Blues scored in the first leg at Stamford Bridge, took the Blues to the final.
Chelsea carried a two-goal lead with them to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; Kai Havertz and a Ben Davies own-goal at Stamford Bridge last week had provided the Blues with a considerable advantage ahead of the EFL Cup semifinal second leg.
Timo Werner nearly compounded Chelsea’s advantage in the opening stages of the game but his chipped effort, with Pierluigi Gollini off his line, sailed just over the bar. Romelu Lukaku came close, too, as he brought down an Rudiger long pass with his chest expertly, held off Ben Davies’ challenge, and drew a save out of Gollini.
Chelsea’s early dominance bore fruit in the 18th minute when Rudiger headed them in front with a little help from Gollini. The Spurs goalkeeper came out to punch a Mason Mount corner away to safety but missed the ball completely, as it then hit Rudiger on the back of his head and floated over the line.
Spurs grew into the game and were a Harry Kane touch away from leveling the scores in the 31st minute, as the striker narrowly failed to connect with a Davinson Sanchez flick from a corner at the back post. The North London side thought that they had an inroad into the match when referee Andre Marriner awarded them a penalty for Rudiger’s foul on Pierre-Emile Hojbjeg, only for VAR to chalk it off upon review.
The second half started for Spurs as the first had ended, with the referee awarding a penalty and VAR taking it away. This time, it was Kepa Arrizabalaga, deemed to have fouled Lucas Moura inside the box, but replays showed the Chelsea goalkeeper getting to the ball first, clearly. To make matters worse, Kane then had a goal taken away from him for offside; the forward was in an illegal position, beyond Kepa, when he received a pass from Moura.
Chelsea held on to their narrow lead until the final whistle claimed a 3-0 aggregate win over their rivals. They will now face either Arsenal or Liverpool in the trophy clash later this season.
