Chelsea came back from the brink to reach the League Cup semi-finals with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Newcastle after Mykhailo Mudryk’s last-gasp equaliser on Tuesday.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were joined in the semi-finals by Fulham, who beat Everton on penalties, and second-tier Middlesbrough, 3-0 winners against Port Vale. Beaten three times in their previous five games, a wretched run that started with their 4-1 loss at Newcastle, Chelsea showed some much-needed fighting spirit to win the quarter-final 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
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Languishing in 10th place in the Premier League, Chelsea were two minutes from being knocked out before Ukraine winger Mudryk came to the rescue with the leveller that set the stage for the Blues’ shoot-out success.
Trippier’s misery was compounded when he smashed Newcastle’s second penalty wide in the shoot-out. 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.