2 Reasons why Chelsea are likely to overturn the 1-0 deficit over Tottenham in the Carabao Cup

Harry Kane’s controversial VAR-assisted penalty goal made all the difference as Tottenham beat Chelsea 1-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. Despite Chelsea dominating possession for most parts of the game, it was Tottenham who emerged winners.

The much-anticipated semi-final was full of fireworks, as both teams dug deep for a positive result; and it was the home team who could afford a smile after winning the game by a narrow margin.

At some point, it was all Chelsea, with Tottenham players dropping deep into their own half trying to protect their slender lead- and it eventually paid off as the game ended 1-0 thanks to a well-taken penalty by Kane.

Maurizio Sarri was happy with his team's overall performance despite losing here again for the second time at Wembley. However, the Chelsea manager was particularly not happy with the referee’s tough decision of awarding a penalty to Tottenham in the first half. The Italian manager cut a frustrated figure on the touchline tasting defeat twice to Mauricio Pochettino this season.

This defeat comes at a time when Chelsea is going through a tough moment. The club is on the verge of losing one of their key players - Fabregas who is heading to Monaco this winter. The rumour of Callum Hudson-Odoi moving to Bayern Munich is refusing to go away and with injuries creeping in; this is perhaps the worst period for Sarri as the Chelsea manager.

However, there are reasons to cheer for Chelsea fans despite the painful defeat in the hands of their London rivals. The way Chelsea dominated proceedings here against an inspired Spurs team is a plus for Sarri's men heading into the second-leg at home. Honestly, the blues did not deserve to lose this one.

On a positive note, highly rated Chelsea youngster Hudson-Odoi was given the nod in the starting lineup ahead of Pedro and Kovacic. The talented youngster hardly disappointed. Chelsea fans were being treated to a Hudson-Odoi's showcase of skill matched by daunting runs, trickery plus incredible speeds which were causing Tottenham all sort of problems.

Chelsea dominated possession for long spells and created a lot of goal scoring opportunities, but the chances went begging. The blues had a total of 17 shots at goal with 5 on target, and were it not for the brilliance of the Spurs’ goalkeeper; the result could have been different.

Consequently, Tottenham has the advantage heading into the second-leg, but there is still 90 more minutes to play for at Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea now having the benefit of playing at home, there are reasons why the blues are more likely to take this game to Tottenham and perhaps pull out a result which would see them make it to the finals of the Carabao Cup.

1. Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard is looking forward to the second-leg

If there is one talented player with ‘super-human’ abilities in this Chelsea side is Eden Hazard. On Tuesday evening, the Belgium international was on the receiving end of a series of tackles from Tottenham players.

It was clear his movement in the field of play with the ball on his feet was becoming more of a problem to the home side. His performance was simply breathtaking and at times mesmerising to neutrals. Giving Hazard any room of space to do his magic is the last thing a team would wish for in a game of football. Yeah, he is that dangerous.

There were moments in the game that even the home fans were applauding his immense brilliance. The number ten was pulling the strings for Chelsea playing as a false 9, but again not playing in his natural position saw him limited to creating anything special for his team.

Nullifying Hazard’s threat should be a top priority for Pochettino's men if Tottenham are serious on making it to the final of the Carabao Cup. It is, therefore, very important to watch out for Hazard. Any slight mistake by Tottenham will see them been punished by Chelsea.

2. Stamford Bridge

Not long ago, Stamford Bridge was a fortress. Teams used to find it hard playing in Chelsea’s backyard- it was a nightmare playing there. We have even seen teams like Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Wigan, falling prey to Chelsea at home with ridiculous scorelines in the process. For instance, Wigan were on the receiving end of an 8-0 thumping by Chelsea in the 2009- 2010 Premier League season when The Blues went on to win the league.

Nowadays, things have changed. Teams that used to lose at Chelsea back then are finding it easy to collect points there. Shockingly, last season Tottenham made history by beating Chelsea for the first time at Stamford Bridge after a 28 year hoodoo.

Nevertheless, never be fooled by stats- Chelsea is still a bigger threat at home. Back in 2012, Chelsea managed to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Napoli by beating them 4-1 at home to qualify for the semis in the UEFA Champions League.

Chelsea also beat an in-form Barcelona side 1-0 at home that same season. Such results and shocking comebacks by Chelsea at home should be a warning sign for Pochettino of the danger ahead. Chelsea is capable of pulling a big result at Stamford Bridge.

Bottom line

Even though all credit goes to the Spurs for their resilience in what appeared to be a much-needed victory at home, Chelsea should not in any way be taken lightly. As mentioned before, the blues have done it before and there is no reason why they can’t do it again against Tottenham.

This Chelsea side is capable of overturning the Spurs advantage in the second fixture in the semis. Therefore, we can’t just sit back and write-off Chelsea. No! In football anything is possible.

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.