Despite taking the lead early on, Chelsea suffered defeat in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Arsenal scored in either half to earn a trip to Wembley to face Manchester City in this year’s final. Eden Hazard put the Blues in front after only seven minutes, before a cruel double deflection saw Antonio Rudiger score an own goal for the equaliser. Granit Xhaka scored in the second half to see Arsenal progress into the final. Here’s who impressed for Antonio Conte’s side last night:
3. Willy Caballero
The Argentine made his third start in a row for Chelsea, as Thibaut Courtois remains unavailable. Caballero was impressive yet again, showing the Chelsea fans that they have a very credible deputy at the club. He was not at fault for either Arsenal goal, and saved brilliantly from Alex Iwobi to keep the score at 2-1. If Courtois is out of the side in the future, Blues fans can relax as Caballero has shown he is more than capable of impressing with performances in a Chelsea shirt.
2. Tiemoue Bakayoko
Since his move from Monaco in the summer, Bakayoko’s performances have been criticised. In recent weeks, he hasn’t really shown why Chelsea paid the money they did to bring him to West London. But, his performance last night suggested that the Blues were right to bring him to Stamford Bridge. Strong and confident in possession, the Frenchman produced a number of quality passes. He also coped defensively alongside N’Golo Kante.
1. Eden Hazard
After scoring a brace away to Brighton at the weekend, Hazard added another goal to his tally this season. After working well with Pedro, the Belgian coolly slotted past David Ospina to put the balls in front. Going forward, he was great as usual, and drew a number of fouls out of the Arsenal players. He might’ve been in on goal to get his second, but his legs gave way just at the wrong time for him.
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