The stats, January 13 (BUS): Antonio Rudiger scored the only goal of the match as Chelsea beat London rivals Tottenham 1-0 to seal their place in the European Football League Cup final.
dpa reported that Thomas Tuchel’s side put themselves well on their way to Wembley with a 2-0 win in the first leg of the semi-final and finished their stint at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Rudiger’s first-half header gave him a three-goal margin and there was no room for a return to Spurs, who suffered another frustrating evening as referee Andre Marriner overturned two penalty decisions for Antonio Conte’s side, while the VAR ruled out what was to happen. It was Harry Kane’s 250th goal in club football.
Chelsea will be looking for a second trophy under Tuchel when they face Arsenal or Liverpool in the final on February 27.
Romelu Lukaku came close to increasing the Champions League supremacy when he shrugged off Ben Davies, but Pierluigi Giulini spread himself to deny the forward a left-footed shot.
Jolini was mistaken to score the first goal after 17 minutes, despite failing to tackle a corner kick by Mason Mount and a powerful Rudiger surged higher to score his second goal for Spurs this season.
Tottenham’s hopes of reducing the difference were dashed when the VAR asked Mariner to change his decision after he awarded a penalty for a foul on Pierre-Emile Hogberg, but Rudiger called outside the penalty area.
Mariner blundered again when he signaled the penalty spot early in the second half, and the referee discovered on the pitch screen that Kepa Arrizabalaga had made contact with the ball when he went out to deny Lucas Moura.
There was more frustration for Spurs when Kane attacked the house, but the England captain stayed away from offside.
Play was halted late due to a medical emergency in the crowd, but after resuming, Chelsea ran through extra time without concern to take their place in the final.
MI