Chelsea pretty much walked into the Carabao Cup final in the end with a dominant performance to beat Middlesbrough. The Blues overturned the one-goal deficit they were facing from the first-leg of the semi-final.
Mauricio Pochettino's side hit six past a helpless Boro, who were more than outclassed on the night. An own goal from Jonny Howson, two from Cole Palmer, and one each for Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi and Noni Madueke ensured the Blues will face the winner of Fulham and Liverpool in next month's final at Wembley.
A very happy Pochettino faced a packed media room after the match at Stamford Bridge. Here is every word the Chelsea head coach had to say.
What are the things that have improved?
«The result was good. I think we are improving from the beginning of the season. If you look at all of the circumstances, we need to be happy because we are competing. To reach the final, I think it was our first objective from the beginning.
»We need to congratulate the players for the effort, amazing. In which ways we are improving, I think we are believing, we are not listening too much when we don't win or we are not scoring too much. What happened in the first game against Middlesbrough.
«We accept the critics but I think it is the most important [thing] to keep the focus, and to see the reality. We need to see the reality and of course split what is Chelsea and what is the team we are building – they are two different things.
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