London (Reuters)
Chelsea dominated their League Cup semi-final first leg match against Tottenham Hotspur to defeat their London rival 2-0, thanks to an early goal from Kai Havertz, and another reverse from guest defender Ben Davies.
Chelsea invaded their guest from the start, and after a mistake by the Tottenham defense in the fifth minute, Havertz fired a shot from a difficult angle, hitting the ball at the foot of defender Davinson Sanchez and into his team’s net.
Half an hour later, the dominant host scored the second goal, albeit with a little luck, when defender Japhet Tanganga headed a free kick from Moroccan Hakim Ziyech, hitting the ball in the shoulder of his teammate Davies and into the goal.
The victory dampened the hopes of Tottenham Hotspur, led by former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, to win the team’s first title since winning the League Cup in 2008.
During this period, Chelsea won 12 major titles, including three in the Premier League and two European Champions League titles.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel restored Romelu Lukaku, the club’s record holder in club signings, after missing the 2-2 draw with Liverpool, as a punitive measure after an interview with the Belgian striker, during which he expressed his unhappiness with his role at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku came close to hitting the net with a header in the first half, and created an opportunity for Ziyech after the break that the Moroccan winger missed. He also fired a direct shot that hit Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in stoppage time.
Chelsea regained its striker Timo Werner, who was absent due to the Corona virus, and participated as a substitute in the second half, and missed an opportunity to set himself a goal against Lloris.
Spurs created only a few chances, the most dangerous of which was in the 90th minute, when Brian Gill passed a ball to Giovanni Lo Celso, but he shot in the hands of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Ziyech said that he hopes Chelsea will not regret the missed opportunities, which could have settled the confrontation early.
“We forgot to settle the match, and we missed many chances,” the Moroccan striker told Sky Sports.
The return match will be played at Tottenham’s stadium on January 12, and the winner of the final will play against Arsenal or Liverpool.
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