Chelsea took control in their Carabao Cup semi-final tie with a 2-0 victory against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the first-leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Romelu Lukaku was called to the starting line-up after being dropped for his controversial interview, while Saul and Jorginho are recalled into the midfield with Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante dropping out.
Kai Havertz gave Chelsea the lead in the fifth minute with a deflected effort from close range after some good work by Marcos Alonso down the left flank.
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The Blues doubled their lead 10 minutes before the halftime break when Ben Davies deflected Hakim Ziyech’s cross while trying to clear at the far post.
Tuchel was forced into a change at the start of the second half as Havertz was unable to recover from an early knock and was replaced by countryman Timo Werner.
Werner should have put the home side three goals clear after the hour mark after being slipped through on goal, but the German was unable to lob Hugo Lloris who had rushed off his line.
Ziyech should have extended the Blues’ lead with 13 minutes left on the clock but the Moroccan midfielder blazed Alonso’s cross over the crossbar from 10-yards out.
Spurs nearly pulled a goal back in the final five minutes when Bryan Gil skipped past one challenge before picking out Giovani Lo Celso but Kepa Arrizabalaga was on hand to make the save as the Blues held on for the win and the clean sheet.
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