Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea 1-0 to take a slender lead into the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
In a close game, Tottenham took the lead when Harry Kane converted a first-half penalty after Kepa sent him sprawling. After a lengthy VAR consultation, Kane belted a low spot kick into the bottom corner of the goal.
Chelsea then hit the bar through Callum Hudson-Odoi and grew in confidence in the second-half, but the Blues lacked a cutting-edge.
Chelsea will need to improve at Stamford Bridge if they are to turn this tie around, with either Manchester City or Burton Albion awaiting in the final.
Here are five things we learned.
Both sides taking the League Cup seriously
Both Mauricio Pochettino and Maurizio Sarri named full-strength starting elevens for this fixture and it is clear that both are taking the League Cup deadly seriously, despite its slightly second-rate reputation.
Harry Kane’s first-half penalty sees Spurs taking a slender lead into the second leg but Chelsea will feel aggrieved to have lost the game. After a slow start they grew in confidence and dominated possession in the second-half, only for Tottenham’s defence to hold firm.
The sides will reconvene on January 22 and it will be interesting to see how both managers rotate their squads in the interim period. The League Cup may not be every managers concern but for Pochettino and Sarri it is far more important than most, albeit for different reasons.
Harry Kane is a Tottenham great…
… but then we knew that already, didn’t we?
His first-half penalty saw him become the first player in the history of Tottenham Hotspur to score at least 20 goals in all competitions over five consecutive seasons – evidence of his extraordinary consistency in front of goal.
But his goal saw him record an even more impressive achievement. In converting the spot kick, Kane surpassed the legendary Cliff Jones as Tottenham’s fourth highest goal scorer, with 160 club goals. Only Martin Chivers (174), Bobby Smith (208) and Jimmy Greaves (266) have more. What company. What a player.
VAR works to perfection
VAR gets a lot of criticism so it’s only fair to praise the system when it makes the correct call.
Midway through the first-half, Harry Kane timed a run from his own half to perfection and found himself one-on-one with Kepa. Kane’s first touch was too heavy – but it did not much matter when Kepa hared off his line and wiped the forward out anyway.
Michael Oliver immediately signalled for VAR, to both check that Kane was onside and that the England captain had not simulated contact. The replay showed that he was and he didn’t, with Kane stepping up moments later to drill his spot kick past Chelsea’s red-faced goalkeeper.
Callum Hudson-Odoi shows why he is so coveted
Were it not for a quite wonderful save by Tottenham number two Paulo Gazzaniga, Chelsea would have gone in at half-time level thanks to Callum Hudson-Odoi.
In a game where Chelsea struggled, Hudson-Odoi shone. The young winger was a constant menace out wide and looked like Chelsea’s most likely goalscorer throughout. Incredibly – he becomes the first player under the age of 22 to feature for Chelsea in this season’s Carabao Cup.
It’s not too difficult to see why Bayern Munich today lodged an improved bid of £35m for his services. It is looking increasingly unlikely Hudson-Odoi will remain at the Bridge: Christian Pulisic has a lot to live up to.
Chelsea need reinforcing
Chelsea have never been afraid to splash the cash since the arrival of Roman Abramovich, but they arguably require more investment now than since the very early days of his ownership.
They are short of a world-class player at both ends of the pitch. They looked toothless going forward, not helped by a late injury sustained by Alvaro Morata, who sat this one out. But given how he played last weekend in the FA Cup, would he truly have made much of a difference?
Chelsea meanwhile looked shaky at the back throughout, particularly when Spurs counter-attacked. Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen looked rocky, struggling against the physical presence of Harry Kane and verve of Son Heung-min. They need organisation and leadership at the back if they are to truly challenge for honours – but will they spend?
