Chelsea cruised into the Carabao Cup final as they secured a comfortable semi-final win over north London club Tottenham.
Chelsea FC beat Spurs 1-0 (3-0 on aggregate) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to secure a spot in the final of the Carabao Cup at Wembley.
And, after the match Thomas Tuchel, who was full of smiles, hailed his side’s performance and also challenged his Blues to step up and “do better” going forward.
Spurs never rarely threatened the west London club, who already had a two-goal first-leg advantage and Antonio Rudiger's bundled finish from Mason Mount's corner kick in the 18th minute confirmed Chelsea’s Wembley date with either Arsenal or Liverpool.
It was a night of correct VAR decisions as Antonio Conte’s side saw two penalties, awarded by referee Andre Marriner for fouls on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Lucas Moura, correctly overturned, including a Harry Kane strike that was also ruled out for offside.
However, Tuchel expressed his delight at how Chelsea always looked in control in the game on Wednesday night despite not playing their best.
Chelsea boss Tuchel told Sky Sports: "We started well, created big chances and were in the lead. But we played with fire; we allowed chances from sloppy mistakes and almost gave a penalty away because of overconfidence. The same happened in the second half, in the last 20, 25 minutes, a mixture of lack of focus, overconfidence. We needed luck to not give away another penalty, to have an offside VAR decision. We need to play better if we're going to really deserve results like this."
Tuchel continued: "We have to meet the standards. It is why we work for Chelsea and play for Chelsea. Nothing else matters. It is not about just getting a result; we can play much better. We can close spaces much better, be better in defence, individually, control the match better and make fewer mistakes. In any aspect we can do better and we must do better."
On VAR denying Spurs the chance to get back into the game, the Bavarian replied: "I'm pretty sure we would've stepped up if they had scored. Every goal has a reaction; we were 3-0 up and there was no need to play with 85% or 90%, but I had the feeling we did. If a goal would have counted, there is enough quality there to stand up, we've done that before when we've conceded."
When asked about defender Rudiger's future at Stamford Bridge, Tuchel said: "Everybody knows [the situation - he is out of contract at the end of the season], let's wait and see. Of course [we are confident of keeping him]. We have things to offer and he is the player he is in a Chelsea shirt and a Chelsea environment. He knows that very well."
Conte: 'Chelsea deserved it.'
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte admitted Chelsea were the better side over the two games, and also said the Lilywhites need to recover for the north London derby on Sunday before a trip to Leicester City next Wednesday (19th of Jan) and then Chelsea again, back at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the 23rd of January.
"Over two legs, Chelsea deserved to go to the final," Conte told Spurs TV. "But I think in the second leg tonight we deserved a better final result. We created many chances and the players played with a great intensity, with a will, a desire not to lose the game.
"We were also a bit unlucky. I don’t like to use this word, but sometimes it can happen during the game, two penalties that were changed and a goal disallowed after VAR. Then, we had many chances to try to score. But at the end, I repeat, Chelsea deserved to reach the final, and we have to know this.
Antonio added: "We know very well that we have an important game against Arsenal, then after three days against Leicester, then against Chelsea again. It will be a really tough week for us, and we will try to give our best."
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