(Football news) Chelsea completely outclassed Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Kai Havertz gave the Blues an early lead in the fifth minute after Japhet Tanganga’s pass to Emerson Royal fell woefully short and Marcos Alonso’s through ball found the 22 year old German who fired a shot which Davinson Sanchez was unable to clear off the line. Chelsea doubled their advantage in the 34th minute after Tanganga failed to clear Hakim Ziyech’s inswinging free-kick, heading it into Davies’ face which then went into the back of the net.

Thomas Tuchel surprisingly started with four at the back with Romelu Lukaku starting the fixture after being dropped against Liverpool. Conte made two changes as Japhet Tanganga and Matt Doherty came in. Such was Chelsea’s dominance that Antonio Cone switched his own system to a back four to mimic Chelsea in an attempt to salvage the situation. The Blues could have scored a third goal in the 66th minute as Hakim Ziyech's volleyed pass found Timo Werner but the German failed to beat Hugo Lloris. It quickly became evident that Tottenham would not be able to get back into the match, prompting Conte to substitute Heung-Min Son and Lucas Moura to ensure his key players remain well rested for fixtures ahead.

Speaking after the match, Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel said "It seems like a deserved win and it's an excellent result as it reflects the game. We could've scored even more but this is football and it's hard to score against a team like Tottenham, it's hard to even create chances but we did create a lot in the second half – some huge chances so it could've been possible to score more so that's the downside of it. It's a tough match that's not been decided yet so we're going to have to work for 90 minutes with the same quality and same level of commitment again."

Tottenham's Antonio Conte said "It was a difficult game, from the start. Chelsea showed they were much better than us. In the first half, we struggled a lot but we know that we're talking about one of the best teams in Europe and in the world. Last year, they won the Champions League and if you compare the two teams I think there's no comparison. We're talking about a team that's ready to win and they've played an important part over many years. Today, we have seen the difference between the two teams."

Tottenham now face an uphill task of defeating Chelsea by over two goals in the second leg while Chelsea will look forward to competing in the finals and win the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2015. The winner of this fixture will either face Arsenal or Liverpool at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday, 27th February. 

Also read: Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku issues a public apology after Inter Milan comments