Callum Wilson scored the opener for Newcastle against Chelsea (Photo: Getty)
Chelsea survived a scare at Stamford Bridge to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals by defeating Newcastle United on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Callum Wilson gave the Magpies an early lead before Mykhailo Mudryk equalised in stoppage time to send the match to a shoot out on Tuesday night, which the home side won 4-2.
Though both sides have been ravaged by injuries this season, each named strong starting XIs, with Newcastle defender Sven Botman notably starting for the first time in three months after recovering from a knee injury.
And straight from kick-off it was evident that it would be an intense affair, with Moises Caicedo booked within two minutes for a nasty foul on Anthony Gordon, which could well have been a red card had VAR been in operation.
Chelsea would dominate possession throughout and create almost all the chances, with Conor Gallagher’s beautiful curling effort from outside the box smacking the crossbar early on.
But it was Newcastle who took the lead, with Wilson capitalising on a Benoit Badiashile mistake, after the defender had initially won the ball off the England striker, to lop Dorde Petrovic.
The Blues had chance after chance to equalise before the break, with Raheem Sterling coming close twice in the space of two minutes – first shooting wide from a tight angle before having an effort blocked on the line by Bruno Guimaraes.
Mykhailo Mudryk scored the equaliser in stoppage time (Photo: Getty)
Subbed on after half-an-hour for Enzo Fernandez, Armando Broja almost made an instant impact, finding the back of the net only to be caught out by the offside flag, before gently volleying a great chance into the safe hands of Martin Dubravka
In the second-half, Newcastle’s stern defence proved very tough to crack, and when it was breached Dubravka was there to deny the home side, brilliantly saving another powerful effort from Sterling.
Even the introduction of Christopher Nkunku, the forward making his long-awaited debut after a lengthy injury, did little to help their clinicalness.
Djordje Petrovic saved the decisive penalty to send Chelsea to the semi-finals (Photo: Getty)
And in the end, it took another defensive error to generate a goal, after Kieran Trippier’s attempt to head back to his keeper went all wrong and allowed Mykhailo Mudryk to pounce and smash home an equaliser in stoppage time.
Chelsea were faultless from the penalty spot, courtesy of Cole Palmer, Gallagher, Nkunku and Mudryk, but the same could not be said for the away team.
Trippier had a night to forget as he fired his spot-kick wide, before Petrovic fantastically saved Matt Ritchie’s decisive pen to send the Blues to the semi-finals.
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In Tuesday night’s other fixtures, Fulham beat Everton on penalties while Championship side Middlesbrough defeated League One’s Port Vale 3-0.
The final quarter-final match between Liverpool and West Ham will take place on Wednesday night.
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