Chelsea through to cup final

LONDON: Chelsea produced the perfect response to manager Maurizio Sarri’s weekend criticism to beat London rival Tottenham Hotspur on penalties yesterday and set up a League Cup final showdown against holder Manchester City.

Trailing 10 from the semifinal first leg, Chelsea turned the tie on its head with goals by N’Golo Kante and Eden Hazard in the first half but Fernando Llorente struck for Spurs in an enthralling Stamford Bridge duel.

Chelsea had 20 goal attempts to Tottenham’s five but the visiting side held firm to set up a penalty shootout.

Christian Eriksen scored Tottenham’s first spot kick but teammate Eric Dier fired over and Lucas Moura’s penalty was wellsaved by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Chelsea’s penalties were more clinical and David Luiz slotted past Paulo Gazzaniga to seal the victory and send Chelsea into its 15th cup final in 17 years.

Spurs, without Harry Kane and England teammate Dele Alli, both because of injury, plus South Korean Son Heungmin on international duty, battled hard but its wait for silverware goes on. It has not won a trophy since it beat Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final.

After Chelsea’s 20 weekend Premier League defeat at Arsenal, Sarri raised eyebrows by accusing his players of being ‘‘difficult to motivate’’ and publicly demanded more of Belgium forward Hazard.

But a visit from rival Tottenham, with a Wembley final at stake, provided the incentive for a far sharper display, and Hazard was at the heart of Chelsea’s attacking effort.

‘‘I think that they reacted well tonight,’’ Sarri, who has never won a trophy during his near 30year managerial career, told reporters.

‘‘But I didn’t attack my players. I just said we had a problem. The reaction was very good but we need to have motivation with continuity now.

‘‘In the last three or four matches we were not able to be dangerous. Tonight was better.’’ — Reuters