Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 (agg 2-1 AET): Ivanovic sends Blues to Wembley

Posted Wednesday, January 28, 2015 by Dailystar.co.uk

DRAMA, controversy and an unlikely hero. This one had it all.

Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 (agg 2-1 AET): Ivanovic sends Blues to Wembley
GOAL: Ivanovic leaps to head home the winning goal

Branislav Ivanovic eventually sent Chelsea through to the Capital One Cup final with an extra-time header from a Willian free kick.

But boy did they have to work for it against a Liverpool side who arrived with a gameplan which came so close to paying off.

Ivanovic won the tie but Diego Costa was the story of the game as he picked up where he left off after his tunnel row with Jordan Henderson in the first leg.

Denied a penalty for a foul by Martin Skrtel, he was also involved in three bust-ups. First he sparked a melee by treading on Emre Can.

Then he provoked Skrtel by appearing to stamp on the Reds defender’s ankle – and he ended his night with a booking for going head to head with Steven Gerrard.

It may have been ugly. But it was also a thriller, with Belgians Thibaut Courtois and Simon Mignolet in superb form as chances came and went at either end.

Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 (agg 2-1 AET): Ivanovic sends Blues to Wembley
CLASH: The two players were at each other all game

So after the “disgrace” of losing to Bradford, Chelsea avoided what would have been the disaster of going out of a second cup in a week here.

But it’s another trophy gone for Liverpool, who didn’t last long on their return to the Champions League.

And while they can be proud of the way they played, Brendan Rodgers has still never beaten Jose Mourinho, whose side will now face Tottenham or Sheffield United at Wembley.

Liverpool survived an early penalty scare when Willian’s shot cannoned off the arm of Lucas – and then the argy-bargy started.

After Emre Can went down under his challenge, Costa stepped on his leg right in front of the dug-outs, sparking a furious response from the Liverpool player and some of his team-mates.

Costa was at the heart of it again in the 23rd minute when Skrtel hacked him down on the edge of the box. There was definite contact but referee Michael Oliver waved away the appeals.

Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 (agg 2-1 AET): Ivanovic sends Blues to Wembley
STAMP: Costa appeared to stamp on Skrtel

Courtois then did well to deny first Alberto Moreno and then Philippe Coutinho, who beat Zouma far too easily and should have scored.

And Chelsea suffered a huge blow when Cesc Fabregas limped off just after half time after injuring himself going into the same tackle as John Terry.

Soon after that the handbags came out again. Lucas was booked for hacking down Oscar and Costa was then involved in another ugly incident.

He jumped a tackle by Skrtel and then trod on the defender’s ankle, with the Reds defender then aiming a kick at him in retaliation.

It was bad tempered and ugly, but there were chances at both ends when the sides decided to focus on playing football, with Hazard missing a great one.

Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 (agg 2-1 AET): Ivanovic sends Blues to Wembley
CLOSE: Oscar went close with a free-kick

Mignolet then pulled off a superb save to deny Costa, whose shot took a wicked deflection off Skrtel – and he did even better to deny the Blues striker moments later with a last-ditch tackle.

Henderson was then lucky to escape a second booking for deliberate handball after receiving a yellow card in the first half for a tug on Hazard’s shirt.

Then it was Terry’s turn to ride his luck. His tackle on Sterling was late and from behind, and it failed to win the ball, but it only earned him a booking.

When the goal finally came you could sense the relief around the ground. But they had to wait until the fourth minute of extra time for it to come.

Lucas, who had already been booked, brought down Hazard and Willian swung in the free kick for Ivanovic to head home unmarked from six yards.

But the drama wasn’t over as Henderson somehow headed wide a brilliant Sterling cross and Costa went head to head with Gerrard.

Chelsea 1 - Liverpool 0 (agg 2-1 AET): Ivanovic sends Blues to Wembley
ANNOYED: It was a frustrating but enthralling night all round