Blues back from brink to keep Pochettino on trophy trail

LONDON — Chelsea came back from the brink to reach the League Cup semifinals with a dramatic penalty shootout victory against Newcastle after Mykhailo Mudryk's last-gasp equalizer on Tuesday.

Mauricio Pochettino's side was joined in the semifinals by west London rival Fulham, who beat Everton on penalties, and second-tier Middlesbrough, a 3-0 winner against Port Vale.

Beaten three times in its previous five games, a wretched run that started with its 4-1 loss at Newcastle, Chelsea showed some much-needed fighting spirit to win the quarterfinal 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, Chelsea was two minutes from being knocked out before Ukraine winger Mudryk came to the rescue with the equalizer that set the stage for the Blues' shootout success.

Pochettino's only silverware as a manager is a French league title and a domestic cup with Paris Saint-Germain. Chelsea's progress keeps the Argentine in contention for his first trophy in England after he lost the 2015 League Cup final during his time at Tottenham.

"We are so happy. The fans and the club deserve this sort of feeling. It's a big motivation," Pochettino said. "We are so young. We are creating a very good bond. This type of result will help us."

The defeat was a painful blow for Newcastle, who failed in its attempt to avenge last season's League Cup final loss to Manchester United at Wembley.

After crashing out of the Champions League group stage, Newcastle's exit was another setback for the Saudi-backed club in its bid to land a first major trophy since 1969.

"It hurts a lot. We defended really well but didn't get over the line," Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said. "It's a very painful moment for us. We'll just have to accept it and digest it."

Newcastle had been gifted the lead by Chelsea's shambolic defending in the 16th minute.

Callum Wilson seized possession inside his own half and accelerated away from Thiago Silva as his surging run carried him into the Chelsea area.

Benoit Badiashile should have snuffed out the danger, but the defender's woefully miscued attempt to clear allowed Wilson to fire home with ease.

With 20 minutes left, France forward Christopher Nkunku came on for his Chelsea debut after a prolonged injury absence since his offseason move from RB Leipzig.

Two minutes into stoppage time, Chelsea forced a shootout as Newcastle defender Kieran Trippier made a mess of dealing with a cross, misdirecting his header to Mudryk, who drilled into the bottom corner.

Trippier's terrible night

Trippier's misery was compounded when he smashed Newcastle's second penalty wide in the shootout.

Nkunku converted Chelsea's third penalty in his first significant contribution for the club.

Djordje Petrovic sealed Chelsea's victory as he dived to his left to make a brilliant save from Matt Ritchie's kick.

Fulham moved into the semifinals for the first time after a 7-6 shootout win against Everton following a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

Cottagers boss Marco Silva enjoyed a measure of revenge on the club that sacked him in 2019 by leading Fulham to its first domestic semifinal since the 2002 FA Cup.

Tosin Adarabioyo scored the decisive spot-kick after Everton's Idrissa Gueye hit the post.

Amadou Onana had missed a chance to win the tie for Everton earlier in the shootout when his kick was saved by Bernd Leno.

Fulham went ahead in the 41st minute through Michael Keane's own goal before Everton substitute Beto equalized with eight minutes left.

"It's incredible what the players have been doing," Silva said. "We wanted to make history in the football club."

Middlesbrough cruised past third-tier Port Vale to reach the semifinals for the first time since it lifted the trophy in 2004.

Michael Carrick's Championship side ruined Vale's first quarterfinal appearance with goals from Jonathan Howson, Morgan Rogers and Matt Crooks.

AFP