Chelsea’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup semi-final was the perfect vindication for Maurizio Sarri, who was blamed a lot after his side’s lacklustre outing against their other north London rivals, Arsenal, in the Premier League. The Blues went onto win the penalties by 4-2 after Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante scored to overturn the one-goal lead Spurs took in the first leg of the Cup tie.
The north London club pulled one back through Fernando Llorente to get the scores level at 2-2 on aggregate and the contest went into penalties. Kepa Arrizabalaga shut out Lucas Moura’s spot-kick after Eric Dier blasted one over the bar to hand Chelsea a berth in the final of the prestigious tournament against defending champions Manchester City.
Sarri was visibly angry during the post-match press conference after the loss against Arsenal and his sharp criticism of the Chelsea players seem to have worked well in their favour as the Blues got the better of Spurs in dominating fashion. They started off in the most offensive way possible and got two goals in the first half itself.
Tottenham looked visibly weak without their talisman Harry Kane, who is out with an injury but still managed to score one against the Blues to take the contest into penalties. However, the vigour and the enthusiasm that lacked during the match against Arsenal was visible on this occasion as Sarri’s men edged past their opponents. The Italian gaffer would definitely be happy with his side’s performance and would hope that they continue to play in the same way in the future as well.
SEE ALSO: Sarri Hails Emerson After “Quality” Display Against Spurs
