(Football news) Newcastle, who ruthlessly defeated Manchester United 3-0 to take retribution, will play the Blues in the round of eight after the latter easily defeated Blackburn Rovers 2-0.
Chelsea managed to bring a little holiday pleasure to the Blues supporters during Sheffield United’s visit this past weekend, as Mauricio Pochettino’s team attempted to drive out the ghosts of their losses to Everton and Manchester United. Chelsea is gradually repairing the walls of the Stamford Bridge castle.
It took the West London titans some time to break through the strong Blades defense, but at the 54-minute mark, Cole Palmer broke through the visitors’ resistance and set up Nicolas Jackson for what might turn out to be the easiest goal of his career. The victory moved the Blues up to 10th place in the standings.
Pochettino’s team may drop back into the bottom half of the standings depending on Sunday’s results, but Chelsea will put depressing ideas of midtable mediocrity out of their minds on Tuesday as they look to extend their nearly perfect record in the EFL Cup.
Having had the luxury of playing all three of their matches at home thus far, Chelsea has defeated AFC Wimbledon, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Blackburn in the English capital to advance this far. Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling’s efforts after the break have condemned the latter to an early fourth-round exit.
Chelsea can also feel confident because they have won their last four EFL Cup quarterfinal matches. The hosts, who have won their last four games at home without losing, have not been eliminated at this stage of the competition since an extra-time loss to Sunderland in 2013–14.
