Middlesbrough moved to within 90 minutes of Wembley with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Riverside.
What were the key talking points from the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at the Riverside?
HACKNEY IS THE HERO
Enzo Fernandez cost Chelsea £100m. Hayden Hackney was playing for Scunthorpe United two seasons ago.
Yet while one midfielder toiled away unsuccessfully last night, conceding possession and running down blind alleys before he was taken off shortly after the hour mark, the other scored the goal that took his side to within 90 minutes of Wembley.
Hackney has been badly missed in the last couple of months, with his injury absence robbing Middlesbrough of their key creative spark at the heart of midfield.
Last night, like the rest of his team-mates, the 21-year-old had to spend most of his time defending. When the opportunity arose to break into the box in the 37th minute, though, he took it with aplomb, timing his run perfectly to slot home Isaiah Jones’ low cross.
If the transfer fees paid out by Chelsea in the last couple of years are taken as a reliable measure, goodness only knows what Boro will be able to ask when, as is seemingly inevitable, the big boys come calling for Hackney.
PALMER’S PROFLIGACY
The quality of Middlesbrough’s defensive display meant they more then merited the clean sheet that enabled them to celebrate a first-leg win.
However, things might have been very different had Cole Palmer been able to locate the back of the net in the first half.
The England international seemed certain to score when Jonny Howson’s misplaced pass handed him possession, but he rolled his shot wide of the right-hand post. A quarter-of-an-hour later, when Palmer was presented with an even better opportunity after Tom Glover spilled Fernandez’s shot, he stabbed a dreadful effort over the crossbar and into the North Stand.
Even when Palmer eventually got a shot on target just before the interval, he scuffed his side-footed shot, enabling Glover to save down to his right. Palmer has had a fine season since joining Chelsea from Manchester City, but this was hardly his best night.
FIVE AT THE BACK
Michael Carrick has rarely strayed from a flat back four during his time on Teesside, but having switched to a back five for Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa, the Boro boss opted to stick with the same formation for the visit of Chelsea.
There was a personnel change, with Dael Fry replacing Matt Clarke at the heart of the backline, but Rav van den Berg and Lukas Engel were once again tasked with playing at centre-half, with Isaiah Jones and Alex Bangura filling the wing-back berths.
Bangura’s night was prematurely ended less than 20 minutes in when he went down clutching his leg after pulling up mid-sprint, meaning Clarke’s exile from the side did not last too long.
The enforced change failed to knock Boro out of their stride though, and the tactical switch had the desired effect of neutering Chelsea’s wide players. Jones and van den Berg teamed up to render Raheem Sterling completely ineffective down Chelsea’s right-hand side, while Engel and Clarke always had the upper hand in their battle against Noni Madueke.
In the last two matches, Boro’s defenders have proved they are versatile enough to be able to cope with a switch in system. Carrick has also proved that he is a head coach willing to adapt when the circumstances demand it.
NO VAR
The absence of VAR from a number of FA Cup matches, and both games in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, has been described as a refreshing change in a number of quarters. Last night, though, it might well have worked against Boro.
Just 30 seconds had gone when Emmanuel Latte Lath broke into the right of the penalty area following a poor defensive header from Levi Colwill.
The Ivorian forward scuffed his shot, but was then caught by a sliding challenge from Axel Disasi that went unpunished by referee Sam Barrott.
Had VAR been in operation, Disasi’s challenge would have been automatically reassessed, and Barrott might well have been instructed to watch a replay on his pitch-side monitor. Had that happened, Chelsea might well have found themselves playing pretty much a whole 90 minutes with just ten men.
As it was, Disasi remained on the field, unlike Latte Lath, who briefly returned after a period of treatment, only to go down again and have to admit defeat and trudge off.
MORE INJURY MISERY
Boro were without 12 senior players at kick-off because of a combination of injury, suspension, international call-ups and the ineligibility rules of the Carabao Cup. By the 20th minute, the number of absentees had risen to 14.
It is a case of one step forward, two steps back when it comes to Boro’s injury situation at the moment, with Latte Lath and Bangura now heading back to the treatment table ahead of Saturday’s Championship trip to Millwall.
The pair have both suffered from muscular injuries already this season – were last night’s issues simply more bad luck, or were the duo pressed back into action too quickly because of the absence of so many other senior players?
Whatever the answer, they are unlikely to be available for the weekend – and could potentially also miss the following Saturday’s home game with Rotherham and the second leg against Chelsea that follows four days later. That will inevitably place further pressure, and make further demands, of the players in the Boro squad that are still standing.
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