FULL TIME: Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
And that’s that. No goals, no near misses, no VAR controversy. You couldn’t put a cigarette paper between these two teams. So it’s off to the Emirates in a fortnight for another 90 minutes, followed by extra time and penalty kicks.
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90 min +4: Alonso tries to power down the left, but Bellerin sticks to him like glue. Arsenal have been very disciplined tonight.
90 min +2: Interesting that on the touchline, just after the penalty claim, Conte was performing the international mime for TV. An early adopter.
90 min: There will be five added minutes, some time no doubt added for that late faff with the old VAR.
89 min: Fabregas wriggles free down the right and sends a low cross into the mixer. It deflects off Xhaka, onto the right-hand post, and out for a corner! Then there’s some retrospective VAR action, as they check the Welbeck-Fabregas coming together. After a wee wait, it’s no penalty and play is waved on. It’s a corner, which isn’t all that.
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87 min: Chelsea finally get a go, and Elneny is booked for a late clip on Morata. That’s the striker’s last involvement; he’s swapped for Batshuayi. Fabregas races down the right and into the area. He stands on Welbeck’s ankle as the pair challenge for the ball and goes over. A penalty claim! But play goes on.
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86 min: It’s all Arsenal now. After another long period of ball-hogging, Xhaka has a belt from 25 yards. It’s not all that, straight at Courtois.
85 min: Yes. He lays it off for Elneny, who was a bit taken aback to receive it, and fluffs his move. Hazard is replaced by Bakayoko.
84 min: Sanchez dribbles in from the left wing and is barged to the ground by Willian. A free kick, and one that Sanchez will be taking himself. Surely, at the best part of 30 yards, it’s too far out to shoot?
82 min: Arsenal are imposing themselves for the first time this evening, enjoying a prolonged period of possession in the middle of the park. The clock, now their friend, ticks on.
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80 min: Kante is booked for a cynical lunge on Welbeck, who was making off down the inside-left channel. He issues a complaint, though there’s not much basis for it. Sanchez takes the free kick, curling it to the far post in the hope of finding Mustafi. It’s too strongly hit, and it’s a goal kick.
78 min: After a fairly stodgy few minutes, this is opening up again. Iwobi twists and turns on the edge of the Chelsea box, but can’t quite fashion a shooting opportunity. Any goal scored now, by either team, would be so precious.
77 min: Alonso and Morata combine beautifully down the left, a quick ping-ping, to release Hazard into acres of space down the left. Hazard enters the area but the angle’s tight, and his low cross-cum-shot isn’t much cop. Willian was waiting in the middle to sidefoot home, too. Chelsea soon come back at Arsenal for a second go, Alonso having a crack from distance down the left. Not quite.
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75 min: Willian has a smack from 20 yards. The ball takes a deflection and heads for the top right. Ospina, for a split second wrong footed, adjusts and claims well.
74 min: On the touchline, Antonio Conte has a good old chew on his fingernails. He’ll be desperate for a winning goal. Chelsea have been on top for the majority of the match, but Arsenal have held them at arm’s length for the most part.
72 min: A brilliant shimmy and shake in the centre circle by Iwobi, and he’s suddenly in a lot of space. He powers wonderfully towards the Chelsea box, then snatches at his shot from the edge of the area, and the ball dribbles through to Courtois. He had Sanchez to his right, screaming for the pass, but he was entitled to have a go. Shame it was so lame after an excellent run.
71 min: Chambers hurt himself while sliding for that ball in the Billy Wright v Ferenc Puskas style. A bit of treatment. It looks like he’ll continue, though.
69 min: Morata hares down the left. His low cross is meant for Fabregas, but is deflected into the path of Hazard, who puts Chambers down on his arse by dropping a shoulder. He’s poised to shoot from the edge of the box, but Elneny does very well to close him down and snuff out the danger.
68 min: The hard-working Drinkwater is replaced by the trickier Willian. A statement of intent from Chelsea, who want to take a lead to the Emirates in a fortnight’s time.
66 min: Sanchez comes on for Lacazette. Moses, to the right of the D, has a dig which is deflected and balloons over the bar. From the corner, Christensen rises and plants a header to the right of the goal.
65 min: Chelsea are pressing Arsenal deeper and deeper, but the visitors are holding their shape. Drinkwater and Moses are doing an awful lot of probing down the right, the inexperienced Maitland-Niles presumably having been identified as a weak link. Nothing doing yet, though.
63 min: More sterile domination by Chelsea. Arsenal will be happy enough with the way the evening’s gone so far, Wilshere’s injury excepted.
61 min: Maitland-Niles curls a delicious ball into the Chelsea box from deep on the left. He’s inches away from finding the head of the inrushing Welbeck, but there’s a little too much height on the cross and the ball floats through to Courtois. Much better from Arsenal, though.
60 min: Arsenal can’t get a sniff of the ball at the moment. But they’re forcing Chelsea to do most of their work in the middle third of the pitch. Azpilicueta is doing quite a lot of quarterbacking, but he can’t find Morata or Hazard with his long, floated passes.
58 min: Morata spins away from Mustafi down the right and bursts into the box. He’s faced with Ospina, and a very, very tight angle, and very nearly squeezes it in. A highly decent effort, albeit one that ends up rippling the side netting.
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57 min: A clearly frustrated Wilshere, ever dogged by injury, is replaced by Elneny.
56 min: Morata elicits cheers this time, blootering a fine effort towards the bottom left from distance. Ospina parries away. Wilshere goes down. He can’t continue.
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55 min: Wilshere is struggling a bit, having extended his leg to block a shot and taken quite a whack. He’ll continue, but doesn’t look particularly happy. He’s limping quite a lot.
54 min: Drinkwater has a whack from distance. It’s blocked by Mustafi’s armpit. Moses wheechs down the right and earns a corner off Wilshere. Alonso gets his head on the set piece, rushing in, six yards out, but somehow can’t get an effort on target.
52 min: Alonso tries to curl one into the top left. He smacks his shot into the wall. The ball balloons out for a corner, which doesn’t really lead to very much.
51 min: Rudiger opens his legs and strides down the inside-left channel. Xhaka extends one of his and upends him, earning a booking. Free kick for Chelsea, 25 yards out, just to the left of centre.
50 min: It’s a little bit scrappy, with nothing much happening. Morata misplaces a pass in the midfield, then narrowly fails to tee up Hazard on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area. On both occasions, the Chelsea faithful let out the Fernando Torres Groan.
47 min: From the second set piece, the ball’s flicked on to Christensen by the right-hand post. He must score, surely, but gets under his header and sends it over the bar. What a chance, the closest there’s been to a goal so far.
46 min: Chelsea waste no time in winning a corner down the right, Moses and Hazard combining briskly and crisply. The ball drops to Kante, just to the left of the D. He hammers a fine rising shot goalwards, but hits his own man Christensen. The rebound leads to some head tennis, and then another corner, this time on the left.
And we’re off again! No changes at half-time. Chelsea get the ball rolling.
Half-time transfer news:
HALF TIME: Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
And that’s that for a breezy but ultimately forgettable half of football. Arsenal will be much the happier side.
45 min: Welbeck eyebrows the free kick over his own bar, conceding a corner. The ball is shifted way back to Azpilicueta, who floats a stunning pass down the inside-left for Fabregas, who has broken clear of the Arsenal back line and will meet it with his head, just inside the area, level with the left-hand post. He sends the ball towards the bottom left; Ospina gathers on the line. He might have done a little better there; anything sent towards the right-hand side of the net would have surely beaten the keeper given his starting position.
44 min: Mustafi drags Morata to the floor as the striker makes off down the right. A free kick, and a chance for Chelsea to pack the box. Fabregas will take.
43 min: Azpilicueta plays a pass down the middle from deep. Fabregas flicks it instantly, and very nearly releases Hazard clean through. Mustafi does very well to stick to his man, and guides the ball back to Ospina.
42 min: Moses comes clattering into Welbeck and concedes a free kick in a dangerous area to the left of the Chelsea box. Xhaka takes, and loops it straight into the arms of Courtois.
39 min: Iwobi bursts down the inside-left channel and loses control. Rudiger only half clears. The ball drops back to Iwobi, who hammers a fine shot towards the bottom left. Courtois parries, Chelsea half clear again. From the loose ball, Maitland-Niles breaks into the box. He goes over with Moses very close to kicking his boot. The ref does the VAR thing, but soon enough is telling Chelsea to take a goal kick.
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37 min: With Arsenal expecting Fabregas to give the ball some air, the Chelsea midfielder slides the ball across the face of the box for Kante. One mistimed hoick later, and Ospina is taking a goal kick.
36 min: Morata looks to spin Mustafi down the inside-left channel. There’s too much grabbing and grappling by the Arsenal defender, and that’s a free kick, 25 yards out. Chelsea load the box.
34 min: It’s kind of gone off the boil, this match. The crowd are still giving it plenty, to be fair.
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33 min: Now it’s Chelsea’s turn to waste a corner. They achieve this by giving the ball to Drinkwater on the edge of the area. He dispatches it towards the tube station.
32 min: Another Arsenal corner, same outcome.
30 min: Corner for Arsenal down the left. Before it can be taken, Chambers shoves Azpilicueta to the ground, both palms on his chest, playground style. Azpilicueta moans a bit. The ref does his little Give Us A Clue style VAR mime - it’s a television show, Lionel/Liza - and the VAR chappie tells him to give both players a bollocking. Chambers and Azpilicueta are told to stop being so bloody stupid. The corner is a non-event.
28 min: From the set piece, Moses once again gets the better of Maitland-Niles down the right. He zips into the box and lashes a superb effort onto the bottom of the right-hand post. Ospina might have had it covered anyway, but it was the wood that did the work.
27 min: After a brief lull, Kante drives down the right before switching the ball to the other flank. Alonso breaks into the box and tries for the bottom right. His shot flies across goal, not miles away from the feet of Morata. It deflects off Chambers and out for a corner.
24 min: Drinkwater slips a pass down the right for Moses, who cuts inside a sleeping Maitland-Niles and enters the Arsenal box. Moses pearls a shot towards the bottom right. Ospina catches at the second attempt, Morata very nearly latching onto the initial fumble.
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22 min: Wilshere floats a pass down the inside-right for Lacazette, who is suddenly clear of a dozing Chelsea back line! He steps into the area, but faced with a slightly tight angle, lashes a wild effort into the top right of the Matthew Harding Stand.
21 min: A lovely little shimmy from Xhaka in the midfield, and he’s earned himself a bit of space. Enough time to thread a pass down the left for Welbeck to chase. The striker very nearly gets to the ball first - he’d have been clear on goal - so Moses does very well to fight his way into pole position and usher the ball out of play.
19 min: Iwobi goes on a zippy run down the centre of the park and he’s upended by Kante, 25 yards from goal. Xhaka drags a dreadful free kick straight into the wall, an awfully weak shot, but gets a break as the ball deflects out for a corner on the right. Fortunately for the hosts, Arsenal make a total balls of the set piece.
17 min: Some slow Arsenal triangulation in the middle of the Chelsea half. Suddenly Lacazette injects a little burst of energy down the inside-left channel, and very nearly breaks clear into the area. Not quite, but that was a lovely little electric buzz, a switch flicked, and it nearly gave Chelsea a shock.
15 min: This is good end-to-end fun, even if neither keeper has had a workout yet. Bellerin slams a low cross into the Chelsea box from the right; Christensen hooks clear. Morata races after a long ball down the Chelsea left, but he’s hounded out of it. We’re only at the start of a long, two-legged affair, so it’s pleasing to see both sides already going for it.
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14 min: Rudiger lobs a long ball down the middle looking for Hazard. Chelsea looking to test Arsenal’s back line under the high ball, it seems. Arsenal pass this time. Wilshere bombs down the other end, a powerful and purposeful run. He spreads the ball wide right for Iwobi, who hesitates, and there goes the momentum.
12 min: Azpilicueta floats a ball into the Arsenal box from a deep position on the right. Alonso nearly gets on the end of it, haring in from the left. Arsenal are forced to concede a corner, from which Moses has an ambitious lash from the right-hand edge of the D. It’s not a very good shot.
10 min: Arsenal are struggling to keep hold of the ball for any great length of time. There’s room for Xhaka in the middle, with Chelsea slightly light at the back, and he fires a pass upfield for Lacazette, but the striker can’t trap the ball and the chance of a quick break is gone.
8 min: Chelsea are enjoying the lion’s share of possession at the moment. Morata, his back to goal, 30 yards out, spins and tries to send Fabregas down the inside left. But Fabregas is nowhere near it. Bellerin goes up the other end and earns a corner down the right. The set piece is a non-event. But this game has a nice, brisk, open feel to it.
6 min: Mustafi sends the ball back towards Ospina with a distinct lack of vigour and energy. The keeper does well to ensure nothing dramatic occurs as a result.
4 min: Stamford Bridge is bouncing. Both teams continue to have a good early feel of the ball. Not too much ambition on display so far. Hazard being the exception: he’s buzzing around in his trademark style, nearly always in shot.
2 min: Hazard slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Morata, who beats Arsenal’s offside trap without too much fuss. He breaks into the box and slams the ball into the side netting from a tight angle. Not an easy chance by any means, so not a cock-up on the level of his three one-on-one misses last week at the Emirates. The ease with which he broke through there may give him succour.
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And we’re off! Arsenal get the ball rolling, and everyone at the back gets a touch. The pitch has had the sprinklers on it, and is lush and slick. The ball’s shuttled upfield, and Chelsea’s defenders take a turn to familiarise themselves with the ball.
The teams are out! Chelsea are in their famous blue, Arsenal wear their storied red and white. Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta outscreams and outclaps his opposite number Jack Wilshere in the tunnel. Wilshere reserved in the old-school style. And then the players take to the pitch as The Liquidator rings around Stamford Bridge. No need to describe the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge when Arsenal are in the house. This is football! We’ll be off very shortly!
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Arsene Wenger speaks! “We look forward to this game because we had a bad game on Sunday and we want to show we can respond quickly. In a semi-final, you always want your team to put in a strong performance. Alexis Sanchez is completely focused and though he has given a lot recently, he is ready to come on and play this game. Of course I welcome VAR, though it has to be clarified what is a penalty, and what is not a penalty, because we are all confused.”
Antonio Conte speaks! “This is a trophy, and trophies are important for my players and for me. For this reason we want to try to get to the final, but we know Arsenal want to do the same. VAR is not bad. It’s very important because it reduces the mistakes. But we must have a bit of patience when you start new things. It can improve football in England.”
TV Oar Insertion dept. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) makes its League Cup debut tonight. It’s designed to cause more end arguments concerning the following type of potentially controversial incident: goals, penalty kicks, straight red cards, and mistaken identity. Referee Martin Atkinson can call on VAR Neil Swarbrick if he so desires, while Swarbrick can metaphorically tap on Atkinson’s shoulder to give the official the heads up over any clear factual errors. If any incident is not totally clear, the VAR may get Atkinson to have a gander at a pitchside monitor, no doubt with Conte and Wenger on his shoulder dispensing beneficial advice. Good luck, everyone!
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Both teams made all manner of changes for their weekend FA Cup games at Norwich City and Nottingham Forest, so perhaps it’s more relevant to make a comparison to the sides fielded when everyone met at the Emirates last week. Chelsea have made two changes to their starting XI: in come Antonio Rüdiger and Danny Drinkwater; Tiémoué Bakayoko drops to the bench, while Gary Cahill sits this one out in his civvies. Eden Hazard is fit after recovering from a calf problem.
Arsenal’s team news is arguably the bigger. Alexis Sánchez is only on the bench - the rumour-mongers linking him to Manchester City will have a field day - while Mesut Özil won’t be taking part at all. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi deputise. Meanwhile David Ospina replaces the rested Petr Čech in goal. Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi have shaken off injury concerns.
The teams
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Drinkwater, Alonso, Hazard, Morata.
Subs: Pedro, Bakayoko, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi, Luiz, Eduardo.
Arsenal: Ospina, Chambers, Mustafi, Holding, Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Welbeck, Lacazette.
Subs: Mavropanos, Mertesacker, Sanchez, Walcott, Elneny, Macey, Nelson.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).
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Preamble
Welcome to our coverage of the first leg of the Carabao League Cup semi-final between bitter London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. And if this match is as half as good as last week’s Premier League encounter at the Emirates, we’re due a cracker.
Arsenal have a poor record at Stamford Bridge. Since winning 5-3 in October 2011, they’ve lost five and drawn one of their last six games on the Fulham Broadway, a run which takes in a 6-0 shellacking in March 2014. With Eden Hazard fully recovered from a calf injury, Chelsea will be favourites to take a lead to north London for the second leg in a fortnight’s time. Especially as Arsenal are reeling from FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest, while their star man Alexis Sanchez may have his head elsewhere thanks to some serious interest from Manchester City.
Then again, the last three meetings between these sides have ended all square. And in the one before that, Arsenal did a comprehensive number on Chelsea in the FA Cup final. The bookies don’t expect the Gunners to win here tonight, but then they didn’t expect that one either.
So good luck guessing what’ll happen this fine evening. Drama, intrigue, twists and turns are never very far away when these old foes square up. Throw in some potential VAR shenanigans, and we could be in for quite the ride. It’s a huge London derby! It’s the League Cup semi-final! It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm GMT.
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