MICHAEL Carrick described Middlesbrough's heavy Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea as "brutal" - but told of his pride at how his players didn't let their heads drop on a painful night at Stamford Bridge.

Boro went into the semi-final second leg with a one goal advantage after their success at the Riverside a fortnight ago but that was quickly wiped out as Chelsea ran in four first half goals and took complete control.

Jonny Howson scored an unfortunate own-goal to level the tie for Chelsea before Enzo Fernandez put the home side in front on aggregate with a second on the night. Axel Disasi and Cole Palmer scored before the break, with Palmer getting his second and Chelsea's fifth 13 minutes from time. Noni Madueke completed the scoring for Mauricio Pochettino's side before Morgan Rogers scored a late consolation for Boro, to the delight of the 4,000 travelling fans.

"I'm hugely disappointed," said Carrick.

"The game unravelled quite quick. It was brutal in a way and quite harsh how the game was for us. Six shots on target there or there abouts and six goals is pretty brutal. I feel massively for the players, the effort and the attitude. We came here with hopes and in the end we got punished. A couple of mistakes and quite quickly they punished you.

"(The feeling is) Disappointment but massively proud of the lads for how they stuck to it. It's not easy to come out in the second half. Nobody waivered, everyone stuck together, it was a true show of our spirit and I was really proud of them for that."

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Despite the heavy defeat, Carrick believes his players will be better for the experience.

He said: "We were realistic at half-time. There was definitely no shouting or screaming, it was about come on, what's next, let's make the most of it, we've come this far, let's make the most of the next 45 minutes in different ways.

"None of our lads have been involved in a semi-final of this size so that in itself is a new experience. It's unchartered territory so that in itself will be hugely beneficial for the lads and they'll be better for going through this experience - how they faced it, what the challenges were, the quality of opposition. Once the dust settles and the disappointment wears off, that experience will be vital."

Boro were dealt a major blow before kick-off with Isaiah Jones ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury in Saturday's draw with Rotherham. That prevented Carrick from playing a three-man defence and wing-backs, which worked well in the first leg - but the head coach dismissed suggestions the winger's absence had forced Boro into a major change of plan, admitting that he knew immediately after the Rotherham game that Jones would be missing at Stamford Bridge.

He said: "We knew he wasn't going to be involved. It didn't affect that at all.

"We've been used to dealing with injuries. I thought we started pretty well, albeit maybe for a short time. But we got punished, then we had a chance to go 1-1, which was a decent chance. They're the type of things that went for us in the first game and over two legs against that level of opposition, it's not easy to stay with them and in the end they were too strong."