December 22, (THEWILL) –Â The EFL Carabao Cup quarter-final between Brentford and Chelsea threatened to go the distance, as neither Brentford nor Chelsea appeared like they could break the deadlock, but Thomas Tuchel’s team found a way to win 2-0 due to a Pontus Jansson own goal and a Jorginho penalty.
Both goalkeepers, Alvaro Fernandez in the home net and Kepa Arrizabalaga in the away net, stayed alert and on hand to divert any danger that came their way in a west London derby that had glimpses of entertaining football but nothing more.
Both sides came close to scoring that elusive goal that would have sent them to the semi-finals of this competition, but both goalkeepers, Alvaro Fernandez in the home net and Kepa Arrizabalaga in the away net
The Bees came closest of the two teams in the first half, with three noteworthy chances: the first coming off the head of Yoanne Wissa, who really should have scored on 11 minutes after a peach of a cross from Rico Henry, which the Chelsea goalkeeper palmed away.
After a fantastic burst to the byline by the athletic Bryan Mbuemo, Mathias Jensen was denied by Kepa with a back post header of his own.
On 41 minutes, left wing-back Henry would get his chance, outpacing Cesar Azpilicueta and forcing a save from the Spanish shot-stopper at his near post as the £72 million man went down superbly to save with his feet.
That was not until Xavier Simons’ thunderous drive hurt Fernandez’ palms, but the Brentford goalkeeper was equal to it and held it well.
Eight minutes into the second half, Fernandez was called into action after a Rico Henry deflection nearly put a dangerous Marcos Alonso cross into his own net, but with 10 minutes to go, captain Pontus Jansson was not so lucky.
N’Golo Kante and Reece James’ interplay created the crossing opportunity for the right wing-back, and the sliding Swede gave his Spanish team-mate no chance in the home goal as Thomas Frank cursed his fate.
With five minutes remaining, Alvaro Fernandez felled Christian Pulisic, and Jorginho stepped up to extend the lead and send the Blues into the final four.
Chelsea has advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and despite being toothless at times, the European champions have defeated their west London rivals.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
