68 2GM Thursday January 13 2022 | the times
SportCarabao Cup
When the draw was made for the semi-
finals of the Carabao Cup, the narrative
was tantalising. Would Antonio Conte
outwit his former club to lead Totten-
ham Hotspur to Wembley with the
chance to secure the club’s first silver-
ware since winning the League Cup in
2008? That the Italian did not come
close speaks volumes for the rebuilding
task ahead at Spurs.
Thomas Tuchel, having already mas-
terminded a Champions League title
for Chelsea, can now plot a third trophy,
having also won the Super Cup. Either
Arsenal or Liverpool await him in the
final in a competition that Chelsea have
won five times. The German has not
quite been at the club a year and yet has
contrived to lead them to the finals of
the League Cup, FA Cup and
Champions League. That he overcame
the threat of Spurs while his team, in his
view, operated at 90 per cent says more
about the opposition than a sense of
standards slipping for Chelsea.
A word cloud for this tie would heavi-
ly feature Antonio Rüdiger, scorer of
the only goal, and VAR, which inter-
vened in Chelsea’s favour three times,
but this was not a case of Spurs being
hindered by the gods. They simply
could not compete with the odds so
stacked against them having conceded
twice in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Conte had asked the fans to help with
what looked from the outset an almost
impossible task. Given that the Italian
has not been shy to indicate his squad is
not of the calibre to challenge the likes
of Chelsea properly, whether in a cup
competition or the league, he needed
all the extra oomph available.
The Spurs players could easily have
started overly frenetically given that
the supporters heeded the manager’s
request but instead they harnessed the
passion and the energy with some intel-
ligent, quick-thinking passing that led
to Andreas Christensen making a
slightly panicked challenge on Giovani
Lo Celso that gave the home side a free
kick. The set piece was wasted but it was
a passage of play that at least indicated
the tie was, briefly, very much alive. It
took Chelsea about eight minutes to
find their sea legs and impose their
superiority. Two long balls from Rüdi-
ger created promising chances, first for
Timo Werner and then, two minutes
later, for Romelu Lukaku, who forced
Pierluigi Gollini, picked ahead of the
rested Hugo Lloris, to save with his
knees. As if tired of creating opportuni-
ties that were not being taken, Rüdiger
made his way upfield for Mason
Mount’s corner kick and connected all
too easily as Gollini floundered in front
of him.
The opening 20 minutes illustrated in
miniature why Conte’s assessment of his
inferior squad is correct. Even when
Spurs applied themselves with discipline
and optimism, they were made to look
amateurish by a side with a clear identity
and strong squad. You could make a listTottenham do not have time to dwell
on the disappointment of a tie that was
probably lost in the first leg. On Sunday
they face Arsenal in the league and
should they triumph all will be for-
gotten for at least a week. Conte will
face his former club yet again the
following weekend. More nose-
wrinkling beckons, especially if Chel-
sea give it more than 90 per cent.Tottenham Hotspur (3-4-3): P Gollini 6 —
J Tanganga 6, D Sánchez 6, B Davies 6 — E Royal
6, H Winks 5 (O Skipp 81min), P Hojbjerg 7,
M Doherty 6 (R Sessegnon 65, 5) — G Lo Celso 5
(B Gill 71), H Kane 6, L Moura 6.
Chelsea (4-2-2-2): K Arrizabalaga 7 —
C Azpilicueta 6, A Christensen 6 (T Silva 66, 6),
A Rüdiger 8, M Sarr 6 — Jorginho 6 (R Loftus-
Cheek 82), M Kovacic 7 (N Kanté 77) — C Hudson-
Odoi 6, M Mount 6 (H Ziyech 67, 5) — R Lukaku 5,
T Werner 5 (M Alonso 66, 5).
Referee A Marriner.
Attendance 45,603.Spurs had three decisions overturned
by VAR. Two were for penalties
awarded by referee Andre Marriner —
the first after 40 minutes for a foul by
Antonio Rüdiger on Pierre-Emile
Hojbjerg which was judged to be
outside the box, the second after 56
minutes was for Kepa Arrizabalaga’s
challenge on Lucas Moura, which was
ruled a fair one. Finally, a Harry Kane
“goal” was ruled just offside.Football
Carabao Cup
Semi-final, second leg
Tottenham (0) 0 Chelsea (1) 1
45,603 Rüdiger 18
(Chelsea win 3-0 on agg)
Today: Semi-final, first leg Liverpool v
Arsenal (7.45).
Women’s League Cup: Group B Leicester 0
Manchester City 5.
Spanish Super Cup: Semi-final Barcelona 2
Real Madrid 3 (aet; 2-2 after 90min).
Premier League
West Ham (1) 2 Norwich (0) 0
Bowen 42, 83 59,775
6 table on page 67
Sky Bet League One
Crewe (2) 2 Charlton (0) 1
Finney 38
Mandron 45+3
Leko 80
3,556P WD L F A GD Pts
Rotherham.........24 15 5 4 45 17 28 50
Sunderland........26 15 5 6 51 32 19 50
Wycombe...........26 14 7 5 42 30 12 49
Wigan....................21 14 3 4 40 20 20 45
MK Dons.............25 12 7 6 44 30 14 43
Oxford Utd.........25 12 7 6 40 2713 43
Plymouth............24 12 7 5 38 2513 43
Portsmouth........23 10 7 6 28 22 6 37
Sheffield Wed... 24 9 10 5 30 27 3 37
Ipswich................ 259 8 8 43 34 9 35
Accrington.........25 105 10 31 40-9 35
Burton.................. 24 9 5 10 29 30 -1 32
Cheltenham....... 25 79 9 31 44 -13 30
Charlton.............. 258 5 12 31 32 -1 29
Shrewsbury....... 258 5 12 26 29 -3 29
Lincoln City........ 24 7 7 10 29 32 -3 28
Cambridge Utd. 24 6 9 9 32 38-6 27
Bolton.................. 24 7 5 12 30 37 -7 26
Fleetwood.......... 24 6 7 11 37 43-6 25
AFC Wimbledon 22 6793036-625
Morecambe 24 6 5 13 34 49 -15 23
Crewe................... 255 6 14 24 44 -20 21
Gillingham.......... 24 3 9 12 18 38 -20 18
Doncaster........... 24 4 4 16 16 44 -28 16Cricket
Third Test match
South Africa v India
Cape Town (second day of five): India, with
eight second-innings wickets in hand, are 70
runs ahead of South Africa
India First Innings 223 (V Kohli 79; K S Rabada
4 for 73).
Second Innings
K L Rahul c Markram b Jansen 10
M A Agarwal c Elgar b Rabada 7
C A Pujara not out 9
*V Kohli not out 14
Extras (b 8, lb 4, nb 5) 17
Total (2 wkts, 17 overs) 57
Fall of wickets 1-20, 2-24.
Bowling Rabada 6-1-25-1; Olivier 2-0-13-0;
Jansen 5-3-7-1; Ngidi 3-3-0-0; Maharaj
1-1-0-0.
South Africa First Innings (overnight 17-1)
A K Markram b Bumrah 8
K A Maharaj b Yadav 25K D Petersen c Pujara b Bumrah 72
H E van der Dussen c Kohli b Yadav 21
T Bavuma c Kohli b Shami 28
†K Verreynne c Pant b Shami 0
M Jansen b Bumrah 7
K S Rabada c Bumrah b Thakur 15
D Olivier not out 10
L Ngidi c Ashwin b Bumrah 3
Extras (b 4, lb 4, w 1, nb 4, p 5) 18
Total (76.3 overs) 210
Fall of wickets 1-10, 2-17, 3-45, 4-112, 5-159,
6-159, 7-176, 8-179, 9-200.
Bowling Bumrah 23.3-8-42-5; Yadav 16-3-64-
2; Shami 16-4-39-2; Thakur 12-2-37-1; Ashwin
9-3-15-0.
Umpires A T Holdstock and M Erasmus.
Ice hockey
Elite League
Glasgow 2 Cardiff 3.
Challenge Cup
Quarter-finals: First leg Sheffield 5 Fife 1.
Second leg Belfast 5 Coventry 1 (Belfast won
7-4 on agg).Snooker
Cazoo Masters
Alexandra Palace, London: First round
J Trump (Eng) bt M Allen (N Ire) 6-5.
Tennis
Adelaide International
Second round: Men T Moura Monteiro (Br) bt
G Monfils (Fr) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 1-0 ret; C Moutet
(Fr) bt M Fucsovics (Hun) 6-2, 6-2; K
Khachanov (Russ) bt G Mager (It) 7-5, 6-3; A
Rinderknech (Fr) bt Kwon Soon-woo (S Kor)
5-7, 6-3, 6-2; T Paul (US) bt B Bonzi (Fr) 6-4,
7-6 (8-6); M Cilic (Cro) bt J Munar (Sp) 7-6
(8-6), 6-2; A Vukic (Aus) bt S Johnson (US)
6-4, 7-5; T Kokkinakis (Aus) bt J Isner (US) 6-7
(5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4). Women M Brengle
(US) bt R Peterson (Swe) 6-3, 6-2; A Riske (US)
bt A Kalinina (Ukr) 6-1, 6-3; T Zidansek
(Slovenia) bt M Inglis (Aus) 6-2, 6-1; L Davis
(US) bt J Paolini (It) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; A Konjuh
(Cro) bt M Vondrousova (Cz) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6
(7-3); C Gauff (US) bt M Kostyuk (Ukr) 6-3, 5-7,6-3; L Samsonova (Russ) bt N Parrizas-Diaz
(Sp) 6-2, 6-1; M Keys (US) bt T Martincova (Cz)
6-1, 6-3.
Sydney Classic
Second round A Karatsev (Russ) bt M
Kecmanovic (Serbia) 7-5, 6-4; L Sonego (It) bt
S Baez (Arg) 6-2, 6-3; D Evans (GB) bt P
Martinez Portero (Sp) 6-2, 6-3; B Nakashima
(US) bt F Fognini (It) 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (8-6); R
Opelka (US) bt J Thompson (Aus) 6-3, 6-2; D
Goffin (Bel) bt D Kudla (US) 6-2, 6-3; A Murray
(GB) bt N Basilashvili (Geo) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-3),
6-3. Women B Krejcikova (Cz) bt J Cristian
(Rom) 6-1, 7-5; C Garcia (Fr) wo E Rybakina
(Kaz); A Kontaveit (Est) bt E Ruse (Rom) 6-3,
6-1; O Jabeur (Tun) bt P Kvitova (Cz) 6-4, 6-4;
P Badosa Gibert (Sp) bt A Tomljanovic (Aus)
6-3, 6-4; D Kasatkina (Russ) bt E Mertens (Bel)
6-3, 6-4; G Muguruza (Sp) bt E Alexandrova
(Russ) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).
Australian Open qualifying
Melbourne Park: Women: Second round
H Dart (GB) bt A Parks (US) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2;
V Tomova (Bul) bt K Swan (GB) 6-0, 7-5.Conte has been outspoken in
his view that Tottenham are
inferior to the top teamsfrom Ben Davies’s cross
brought a fine save from Kepa,
who was alert throughout,
relishing the chance for a run in
the side in the absence of Édou-
ard Mendy, who is competing at
the Africa Cup of Nations.
Kepa was a little too eager,
however, in his distribution
which allowed Spurs to win posses-
sion high up the pitch and Kane
thought he had pulled back a goal
only for VAR to show he was, slightly,
offside. At any other time, the opposi-
tion supporters would have cheered
the overturned goal sarcastically but
by now everyone in the stadium was
slightly bored by the review process.Chelsea win 3-0 on aggregate
Semi-final, second leg
Alyson Rudd
Rüdiger shows the
huge gulf in class
Conte has to bridge
Tottenham
Chelsea
Rüdiger 180
1
of positions that Spurs need to strength-
en and fill them all, hypothetically, with
players owned by Chelsea.
The lead on the night allowed Chel-
sea to slow the game down, which clear-
ly irritated Spurs who found a second
wind. A thumping shot on the turn from
Harry Kane ricocheted out to Pierre-
Emile Hojbjerg, whose powerful, off-
the-cuff effort was deflected for a
corner from which Kane almost scored.
The home side were far from brow-
beaten and in the 40th minute were
awarded a penalty when Hojbjerg
thundered into the box and stumbled
under the challenge of Rüdiger.
After a VAR review, Andre Marriner,
the referee, was informed that the rele-
vant contact took place just outside the
penalty area and Lo Celso took the
resultant free kick, which was blocked
for a corner that was easily cleared. The
U-turn took the sting out of proceed-
ings and the half-time break allowed
the home fans to absorb the fact that
their team were not all that likely to
score the minimum of three goals
needed to take Spurs to Wembley for a
second successive season.
It felt at times that this second leg was
Spurs versus Rüdiger. The defender,
whose contract is up for renewal this
summer, came close from another
corner as the Tottenham defenders
assessed his presence with something
approaching trepidation. The signs
are that the German international
will agree new terms with his club,
which is welcome news given
the sheer energy and person-
ality he gives a sometimes
pallidly efficient Chelsea.
The home crowd turned
when Harry Winks over-
played a through-ball to
Kane. There have been
worse mistakes made in this
stadium but the moment
summed up the lack of real,
cutting-edge quality. Spirits
were raised when a far better
ball, played by Kane to Lucas
Moura led to another penalty
decision when Kepa Arrizabalaga
ran out to intercept. It looked like a
very good tackle and Marriner was
forced to agree when he peered
into the pitch-side monitor to take
a second look. Conte wrinkled his
nose as if VAR was a dish of stale
spam.
Still, his players kept on trying
and an Emerson Royal headerWho is the Spurs
back-up goalkeeper?The Spurs reserve ’keeper,
whose howler cost them
the game, is Pierluigi
Gollini. The 26-year-old
joined Spurs from Atalanta
on loan at the beginning of
the season but has only
played in cup games so far.
Having begun his career
with Verona he spent two
seasons with Aston Villa
from 2016 to 2018, then
joined Atalanta.
Gollini played for Italy at
many age-group levels and
has one senior cap, coming
on as a substitute against
Bosnia-Herzegovina in
November 2019.Results