It might not be the most glamorous of trophies, nor the one held in the highest regard, but the way Chelsea and Newcastle battled to remain in the Carabao Cup, showcased all the qualities of traditional cup football.
A single Callum Wilson goal gave Newcastle the lead and looked to have been enough to book them a place in the semi-finals for a second successive year, but cup football is never quite so straightforward. Chelsea found an equaliser in stoppage time when Mykhailo Mudryk capitalised on yet another Kieran Trippier error to take the game to penalties.
Unfortunately for the England international, he also missed in the penalty shootout along with Matt Ritchie, while Chelsea were flawless from the spot, booking their place in the semi-finals.
Wilson was fortunate for his opening goal, making the most of a catalogue of defensive errors, including a horror from Benoit Badiashile, who allowed Wilson to rob the ball from him in the box and curl into the back of the net. For the equaliser, Trippier attempted to head clear, but mistimed it, sending the ball into the path of Mudryk, who slotted home.
The lack of VAR only added to the occasion. The technology is not used before the semi-finals as not all teams in the competition have access to it, but the lack of replays and purple screens indicating match delays only added to the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
The outrage at decisions was allowed to rage, but there was no opportunity to have a second look, there were no lengthy stoppages or pauses to look at something from a hundred angles, and the game flowed more smoothly because of it.
On that front, Chelsea were arguably the more fortunate. Moises Caicedo wasted no time getting stuck in with a nasty challenge on Anthony Gordon early in the match, but referee Jarred Gillett pulled out a yellow card and the game continued. Although the Blues had a penalty shout of their own in the 90th minute when Conor Gallagher went down in the box.
A hopeful Chelsea penalty shout was waved away, as was another challenge that might well have warranted a second look had it occurred in the Premier League when, on the stroke of half-time, Levi Colwill went into a challenge studs up and caught Emil Krafth on the shin. It would prove to be the final involvement for both players who came off at the break
Newcastle have unfinished business in this competition. A stunning run to the final came to an end last year with a routine 2-0 win for Manchester United, who showed their big-match experience to claim the trophy. It was a first final for the Magpies since 1999, but their hopes of emulating last year came crashing to an end in the shootout.
Eddie Howe’s men had a tough route to the quarter-finals, starting at home to Manchester City, followed by a trip to Manchester United and then yet another difficult journey to face Chelsea. Their form in recent matches has not been that of the side that thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 at St James’ Park, but their injury-hit squad has been run ragged.
Despite the ongoing injury woes, Howe named as strong a squad as he could have, despite the number of fixtures in the upcoming festive period. While it may yet backfire, Gordon was forced off in the 52nd minute after going down off the ball, it might have been the impact of one game too many for the winger, but the tired Magpies fought until the end.
For Chelsea, the League Cup offers arguably their best chance of securing European football this season. It seemed improbable at the start of the year for the club whose owners spent around £1bn on transfers, but languishing in 10th place, having lost seven matches out of 17, that is the place the 2021 European champions find themselves.
While there are debates over whether there’s a place for the Carabao Cup amid the expanded Champions League and Club World Cup, at Stamford Bridge there was no sign that either side considered it a second-tier competition.
