Chelsea edge Spurs on penalties to reach League Cup final

LONDON (Reuters): Chelsea produced the perfect response to manager Maurizio Sarri’s weekend criticism to beat London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on penalties on Thursday and set up a League Cup final showdown against holders Manchester City.

Trailing 1-0 from the semi-final first leg, Chelsea turned the tie on its head with goals by N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard in the first half but Fernando Llorente struck for Spurs in an enthralling Stamford Bridge duel.

Chelsea had 20 goal attempts to Tottenham’s five but the visitors held firm to set up a penalty shootout.Christian Eriksen scored Tottenham’s first spot-kick but team mate Eric Dier, the hero of England’s World Cup shootout win over Colombia last year, fired over and Lucas Moura’s penalty was well-saved by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Chelsea’s penalties were more clinical and David Luiz slotted past Paulo Gazzaniga to seal the victory and send Chelsea into their 15th cup final in 17 years.

Spurs, who were without Harry Kane, scorer of a penalty in the first leg, and England team mate Dele Alli, both because of injury, plus South Korean Son Heung-min who is on international duty, battled hard but their wait for silverware goes on.

They have not won a trophy since beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final.

After Chelsea’s 2-0 weekend Premier League defeat at Arsenal, Sarri raised eyebrows by accusing his players of being “difficult to motivate” and publicly demanded more of his Belgium forward Hazard.

But a visit from rivals Tottenham, with a Wembley final at stake, provided the incentive for a far sharper display, with Hazard at the heart of Chelsea’s attacking endeavour.

Tottenham, are four points above Chelsea in the Premier League standings.