So Chelsea cruise into the last four, along with Sheffield United. Chelsea were far too good for Derby tonight, although the Rams will feel a little hard done by about Jake Buxton’s red card.But Chelsea deserved to win. The only negative for them was the injury to Kurt Zouma. Hopefully he’s okay. Thanks for reading. Night.
Full-time: Derby County 1-3 Chelsea
The magic of the Capital One Cup is conspicuous only by its absence here.
90 min+2: Sheffield United have beaten Southampton 1-0! They’re into the semi-finals!
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90 min+1: There will be three minutes of stoppage time.
90 min: Southampton have had Florin Gardos sent off, by the way.
88 min: Sheffield United are still beating Southampton 1-0.
85 min: Bryson slices a shot horribly wide from 25 yards.
84 min: Ramires replaces Eden Hazard, the scorer of Chelsea’s first goal, while Leon Best is on for Omar Mascarell.
GOAL! Derby County 1-3 Chelsea (Schurrle, 82 min)
Chelsea don’t need too long to expose Derby’s 10 men. Fabregas fed Remy on the right side of the area. His low shot was palmed out by Grant but only to Schurrle and he makes no mistake tucking home the rebound. The comeback is OFF.
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79 min: Derby are livid. But they can’t get too worked up. There’s a Chelsea free-kick to defend. Will it be Luis again? He’s already scored once. He’s standing over it. But he leaves it to Schurrle. He flashes a shot over. “Ibe to score/provide the winner thus leading to Brendan recalling him for Liverpool where he leads a revival of turnarounds before being sent out on loan to Grimsby,” says Ian Copestake.
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JAKE BUXTON IS SENT OFF!
78 min: Jon Moss debates it with the linesman and then shows the red card - but to Jake Buxton, not Lee Grant. Oh my. The replay shows that Buxton hauled Remy back as Grant reached the ball and he’s been sent off for denying Remy a goalscoring opportunity. Is that harsh? Grant was already getting to the ball.
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77 min: Remy is sent haring through the middle by a pass from Fabregas. Grant races out from his goal and smothers the ball but slides out of the area as he does so. To Derby’s fury, the linesman flags, apparently because he handled it outside the area. Grant could be off here, although he thinks he took his hands off the ball.
76 min: Derby make another change, Jeff Hendrick on for Will Hughes.
74 min: Jordon Ibe goes on a dazzling run down the left and somehow manages to win a run despite being swamped by Ivanovic and Azpilicueta. The corner is swung into the six-yard box and cleared with some difficulty. “Tattoo’s Johnny Russell appears to be wearing no shorts other than bicycle shorts,” says Ian Copestake. “Is this the way things are done in the hipster division?
73 min: “Nice job (at 50 min) on getting that shot for Derby,” says JR in Illinois. “If you wouldn’t mind, could you next say “I just want Derby to score three goals and win this game.”? No MBM for the Club World Cup? I’ve got half an eye on it. Cruz Azul is beating Real Madrid!! Eh, just kidding. Madrid is up 4-0. At least I got to see Gareth Bale get punched in the back of the head. I can report that he didn’t seem to enjoy it.”
Well there’s one.
GOAL! Derby County 1-2 Chelsea (Bryson, 71 min)
But there’s something to see here! Derby are back in it, against all the odds! This is a good goal. Bryson found Russell on the right and he cut inside before knocking it back to Bryson, who swept a measured finish past Cech and in off the right post. The comeback is on!
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68 min: Chelsea are killing the game. Nothing to see here.
65 min: Chelsea chants are ringing around the stadium formerly known as Pride Park.
63 min: Loic Remy replaces Didier Drogba.
62 min: Sheffield United have taken the lead against Southampton in the night’s other quarter-final. Oh well, Southampton were fun while they lasted.
60 min: Drogba slips on the right and goes down clutching his ankle. He’s indicating that he’ll need to go off.
58 min: “I mostly agree, he can be very effective as a direct player, but lacks the creativity of top quality wide player,” says Dante Danger about Schurrle. Yeah. He’s intelligent, though, and a good finisher.
57 min: Jordon Ibe, on loan from Liverpool replaces Simon Dawkins for Derby.
GOAL! Derby County 0-2 Chelsea (Filipe Luis, 56 min)
What a way for Filipe Luis to score his first goal for Chelsea! Drogba won a free-kick 25 yards from goal and the left-back stepped up and curled it wonderfully over the wall and into the left corner, Grant given no chance of saving that all. That’s a peach of a goal and this tie is surely over.
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54 min: Here’s Schurrle, trying to be effective. He’s picked out by a pass from Hazard and brings it down on his chest, before twisting and turning and shooting. Deflected. Wide. Drogba screams at Schurrle for not passing to him when he was arguably in a better position.
52 min: “What do you make of Schurle?” says Dante Danger. “He looked superb for Germany in the World Cup but never convinces for Chelsea. Is it just he is lacking a run of games in the team or just not creative enough? For me, he flatters to deceive, though he does have good hair.”
An effective player, especially in front of goal, but he lacks a bit of magic.
51 min: Derby have a shot! In fact, they should be level and they would be if it wasn’t for Petr Cech. Russell beat Terry on the right, the Chelsea defender over-committing himself, and cleverly cut the ball back to the unmarked Hughes, whose sidefooter from 12 yards is pushed wide by Cech. He should have scored, to be honest. An escape for Chelsea.
50 min: I just want Derby to have a shot. They can’t go through the whole evening without having a shot.
48 min: The match is already settling into a familiar pattern, Chelsea in command, Derby unable to build any momentum.
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46 min: The second half begins. The bad news for Derby is that Chelsea have not lost since April when they have taken the lead.
Half-time: Derby County 0-1 Chelsea
Chelsea lead thanks to Eden Hazard, who took advantage of some poor Derby defending, but the half ends on a dispiriting note after the head injury that was suffered by Kurt Zouma. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.
45 min+6: “Jon Moss cuts a particularly displeasing figure out there,” says JR in Illinois. “I’m not so sure he is fit enough for his current occupation. I did like it, though, when he sprayed Santi Cazorla in the face with the invisible spray. Speaking of which, Will Hughes bears a remarkable resemblance to invisible spray. I hope Derby get promoted so Hughes can challenge Steven Naismith’s translucence domination. Oof. Hope Zouma’s going to be alright. I don’t feel well now.”
45 min+4: Zouma is finally being taken off on the stretcher. The crowd applauds. Our best wishes go out to him. That looked nasty. Ivanovic is on and play resumes.
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45 min+2: Sky are reporting that Zouma is bleeding from the mouth area. They still haven’t put him on the stretcher. There’s a lot of concern. Ivanovic is ready to come on.
45 min+1: There will be four minutes of stoppage time. Zouma hasn’t been taken off yet.
44 min: Chelsea’s players look worried about Zouma’s condition. He appears to be out cold and hasn’t moved. Luis and Mikel both frantically call for the stretcher and indicate that they need to make a substitution. Branislav Ivanovic will come on.
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43 min: Another corner for Derby on the right. Russell whips it to the far post and tempts Cech off his line to punch it away; as he does so, Zouma is accidentally caught in the head by Cech, who immediately beckons for the medical staff to come on. Zouma might be unconscious.
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41 min: Terry firmly heads Russell’s corner away but then Fabregas concedes a free-kick for a push on Hughes. This is a good spell for Derby. Finally, some pressure.
40 min: The corner is sent to the near post and Drogba flicks a header away for another corner on the opposite side. Russell goes over to take it. First the referee has to sort out some nonsense in the area.
39 min: And so’s this. Bryson bursts through on the left and wins the corner. The tide is definitely turning.
DERBY ENTER CHELSEA'S HALF
38 min: But here come Derby! Forsyth is worked into a good area on the left and fires in a low cross. But the flag goes up for offside. Still, it’s progress.
37 min: Derby have not been in Chelsea’s half for a while. They just haven’t been able to get going. It’s men against boys at the moment. It’s hard to see how Derby are going to have a shot, let alone score a goal.
34 min: Chelsea’s fans are chanting about being top of the league. No one likes a boaster.
32 min: Schurrle skips away down the right and clips a low cross towards Drogba in the six-yard box. Drogba looks to sweep it past Grant but he’s frustrated by a cracking last-ditch block from Keogh. Chelsea want that second goal and they are well on their way to getting it at the moment. It feels like a matter of time.
31 min: Hazard diddles through from the left but drags his shot well wide from 18 yards. He’s in a dangerous mood, though. There’s a sense of foreboding every time he’s on the ball.
29 min: Fabregas is starting to purr. He sends another searching ball through to Drogba, who plucks it out of the sky as it falls in the Derby area. He’s tackled before he can shoot, though, and Schurrle is also denied before he can pounce on the loose ball. But Derby are rocking a tad.
27 min: The free-kick is a waste of time, sent straight to the first Chelsea defender. Up the other end, Chelsea carve Derby open on the left, Fabregas’s pass finding Luis, whose drive is pushed away by Grant. Meanwhile a Derby player has slipped. “Are you Gerrard in disguise?” chant the Chelsea fans.
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26 min: A decent response to falling behind from Derby, a neat pocket of play leading to Matic clumsily bringing Hughes down on the left. This is a good opportunity for derby.
GOAL! Derby County 0-1 Chelsea (Hazard, 23 min)
Eden Hazard makes the difference for Chelsea, as he so often does, scoring with his side’s first shot on target. But Derby only have themselves to blame. They failed to learn their earlier lesson and this time Keogh dawdled on the edge of the area, hassled by Drogba into giving the ball away. Fabregas knocked the ball to Hazard and suddenly he was in space and Derby were in trouble as he burrowed into the Derby area from the left. He could have shot immediately but he kept his composure, dancing past another challenge and then, when it suited him, he drilled a low shot to Grant’s right from 15 yards out. That’s a lovely finish.
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20 min: Chelsea continue to stroke the ball around Derby’s half. It’s very cat and mouse. Chelsea can’t find the final pass. Schurrle threatens for a moment, darting into the area from the right, but his pass, intended for Drogba, is cut out. Derby are defending well.
18 min: Hazard pings a diagonal ball from left to right, seeking out Schurrle. He can’t do anything with it. Goal-kick to Derby. Chelsea haven’t actually had a shot on goal yet.
16 min: Matic is back on. But Derby are on attack. Sort of. They faff around with the ball on the right but can never work it into a position for a cross and Chelsea deal with them easily enough.
15 min: Matic is limping off for more treatment. Mourinho, wide-eyed on the touchline, looks unamused.
14 min: Bryson catches Matic on the shin with an outstretched leg. He stays down for a while. He seems to be in some discomfort.
11 min: Drogba is bullying Derby a bit. Now he takes the ball on his chest and draws a foul from Christie on the left. Chelsea fling the ball into the area but, again, the set-piece comes to nothing. “Taking into account Derby’s shirt, I’ll eat one of my hats if Chelsea doesn’t win,” says Antonio Lopes. “Or some roasted ram. Whatever is tastier.”
9 min: Mikel drifts a long ball over the top to Drogba, who holds off Keogh and looks to bring the ball down inside the Derby area, but his control is lacking and it goes behind for a goal-kick.
7 min: Chelsea are controlling the game. The home side are struggling to assert themselves. They’re not seeing the ball at all.
5 min: Mascarell plays himself into a bit of bother on the edge of the Derby area, Chelsea pinning him into a corner and forcing him to try to knock it back to Grant. The ball goes behind for a corner. Oh dear. Luckily for Mascarell, nothing comes from it, Grant catching Fabregas’s corner. But Derby probably don’t want to do that again.
4 min: “I agree, Ronaldo was the best player to have played in the premier league and honestly you would have to say ever in England,” says George Trevers. “Henry was a great though. But I’d, yes as a Chelsea fan, would rather have Drogba over Henry - just for his big game record alone! He won Chelsea leagues and trophies time and time again with his big goals!” Drogba is ludicrous. I think I love him now. What a man.
3 min: Chelsea swing in a cross from the left. Drogba attacks it and his header hits Buxton, deflecting behind for a corner. Fabregas curls it to the far post and Russell heads away, before trying to start a counter, only for it to be cynically brought to an end by Schurrle. Naughty Chelsea! Naughty Schurrle! He’s rewarded with a booking.
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2 min: Now Hazard spoons the ball out for a throw on the left. Chelsea are all over the shop here! Admittedly Derby have touched the ball three times, but still.
And we’re off! Chelsea, all in blue, get the game underway, kicking the ball from right to left in the first half. Derby are in white shirts and black shorts. The ball is pumped out to the right for Azpilicueta to chase but it runs out of play, to the delight of the Derby fans. If Chelsea continue to do that all night, Derby have this in the bag!
Here come the teams! They’ll be playing football in a minute. “Evening Jacob. I’m hoping for a Derby win tonight for all sorts of reasons, not least because cover star Johnny Russell is a Dundee United legend,” says Simon McMahon. “I still have my ‘Russell-mania’ T-shirt from when he was setting the heather on fire up here. Happy days. Johnny, oh Johnny Russell go down the wing for me.” I recently watched a Dundee United game. Sadly they lost.
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Sky Sports are very pleased they’ve nabbed Thierry Henry as a pundit and well done to them, he should be good. Of course, he’s not the best player to have played in the Premier League - that would be Cristiano Ronaldo, end of, cased closed, nqat.
“Here are my answers to the posers you set out in the preamble tonight,” says Tom Ayres. “I hope you find them helpful: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no ,no, no, no, yes.”
How is that helpful? I can’t even remember what the questions were.
“I saw your picture of Johnny Russell and got all excited thinking he’d scored, only to look at the clock and realise I was a tad premature in my desire to see Chelsea one nil down,” says Gib Daniels. “Oh well. Thanks for those 2 seconds though. Probably the most fun I’ll have with the football tonight.”
Sorry to disappoint. If it’s any consolation, he might score.
The teams
Derby: Grant; Christie, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Hughes, Mascarell, Bryson, Russell; Martin, Dawkins. Subs: Hendrick, Naylor, Coutts, Roos, Calero, Best, Ibe.
Chelsea: Cech; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Terry, Luis; Mikel, Matic; Schurrle, Fabregas, Hazard, Drogba. Subs: Ivanovic, Ramires, Salah, Remy, Costa, Willian, Schwarzer.
Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire)
Preamble
Evening. Can Chelsea win the quadruple? Can they? CAN THEY? What do you think? What’s your gut feeling? Reckon they can do it? Win the quadruple? Four trophies. Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Capital One Cup. That’s a lot of trophies. But can they do it? Can they win the quadruple? They can’t be Invincibles any more but can they be Quadruplebles (Quadrupalists?)? You’d have to fancy them for the Capital One Cup. Derby County, riding high in the Championship, will be awkward tonight but Chelsea should win and then they’ll be in the semi-finals and Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United are already knocked out. Tottenham and Southampton are still in the competition and let’s not forget Newcastle, the only team to beat Chelsea this season, but it would be a surprise if they can beat Jose Mourinho’s side. So, win this competition and then there’ll only be three trophies left! Three trophies until the Quadruple. What do you reckon? Can they do it? Can Chelsea win the quadruple?
Or is it a bit early to be asking that when it’s only December?
Kick-off: 7.45pm.
