Carabao Cup: Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea (5-4 penalties) – Spurs progress in shots from the point

Mason Mount missed the crucial penalty as Tottenham edged Chelsea on penalties after drawing 1-1 to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Chelsea had dominated the first half and new signing Timo Werner scored his first goal for the club with a clinical finish in the bottom corner.

Spurs responded well after the break and rookie Sergio Reguilon’s side shot from inside the box was pushed over the crossbar by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who was also making his first appearance at his new club.

José Mourinho’s team earned their reward with seven minutes remaining when Spaniard Reguilon’s center passed through the back post for Erik Lamela to coolly convert from six yards.

With no overtime played, the game went straight to penalties and Mount was the only player to miss.

Second-row Spurs advance

Spurs manager Mourinho appeared to dismiss competition before the game, saying the sheer number of matches his team faces means that it has to prioritize the Europa League as money is “very important.”

An arduous schedule sees the Spurs in the midst of a four-game streak in the space of eight days.

After drawing with Newcastle on Sunday and beating Chelsea on Tuesday, more games will follow on Thursday, against Maccabi Haifa in the Europa League, and on Sunday, when they face Manchester United in the Premier League.

But Mourinho will be delighted to surpass his old club, where he spent two seasons as a manager and won three Premier League titles.

Mourinho was hired as a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino last November with the aim of securing a long-awaited trophy, with his victory in this competition in 2008 being his most recent trophy.

Gareth Bale’s return is unavailable due to injury, but teammate Reguilon, whose mistake led to Chelsea’s goal, improved as the game progressed, showing off his electric pace and ability to create a goal.

The winger was a constant exit from the left in the second half and it was he who chose Lamela for the leveler.

That came shortly after a strange moment in the second period when defender Eric Dier ran off the field and headed straight for the locker room to go to the bathroom, quickly followed by an irate-looking Mourinho, before both reappeared a couple of minutes later. .

Dier, Lamela, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane converted their shots from the spot to help Tottenham advance to the next round, which takes place in December.

Chelsea’s new guys impress

Lampard’s debut season as Chelsea manager was relatively successful, finishing in the top four and reaching the FA Cup final, where they were defeated by rivals Arsenal.

But the mandate has changed this season after spending over £ 200m on new signings, but getting out of this competition means one less chance for a trophy at the end of the campaign.

German striker Werner, who scored 34 goals last season, opened up his account for the Blues and showed signs of an emerging understanding with left-back Ben Chilwell, who was given his first start after joining from Leicester for £ 45 million. .

Mendy, a £ 22m acquisition of Rennes, came on board to solve the club’s goalkeeping problems and was a consistent performer, confidently coming off his line to claim catches and making good saves to deny Reguilon and Lamela.

The Blues have been unable to win their last two league games, counterattacking for a 3-3 draw against West Brom and being beaten by Liverpool, so Lampard will need to start picking up results quickly with owner Roman Abramovich closely monitoring the proceedings afterward. of your summer outlay. .

Lampard’s control over Mourinho – the statistics

• Chelsea have lost six of their last eight League Cup penalties, including all three in the fourth round phase (also against Burnley in 2008-09 and Stoke in 2015-16).

• José Mourinho has progressed from 26 of his 31 League Cup qualifiers, this being the first time he has progressed through a penalty shoot-out in the competition, losing his previous three.

• Mourinho has faced Frank Lampard four times without a win in his career as a manager (two draws and two losses), double what he has faced any other manager without registering at least one win.

• Timo Werner scored his first goal for Chelsea with his 11th shot for the club in all competitions.

• Only Robert Lewandowski (56), Ciro Immobile and Cristiano Ronaldo (40 each) have scored more goals among players in Europe’s top five leagues in all competitions since August 2019 than Werner (35).

• Werner is unbeaten in the club’s last 41 games when he has scored in spells with RB Leipzig and Chelsea (W35 D6).

• Erik Lamela has been directly involved in six goals in his last four League Cup matches with Tottenham (3 goals, 3 assists).

• Each of the two League Cup meetings between Mourinho and Lampard has gone to penalties, and both coaches progressed once: Lampard in 2018-19 with Derby v Man Utd and Mourinho tonight with Spurs.