Liverpool aim to put the boot into wounded Chelsea in League Cup semi-final second leg
With Chelsea reeling from FA Cup humiliation, Liverpool will visit Stamford Bridge for their League Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday with increased confidence of reaching the final.
Liverpool were unfortunate not to emerge victorious from last week’s first leg at Anfield, drawing 1-1, and they will scent blood after Chelsea were bundled out of the FA Cup by third-tier Bradford City on Saturday.
Liverpool’s own FA Cup tie did not go quite according to plan, a 0-0 draw with Championship side Bolton Wanderers leaving them with an unwanted replay, but they were at least spared the embarrassment that befell Chelsea.
The most important competition now is the [League] Cup because it is the next game
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho branded the result a “disgrace” and declared himself “ashamed” after seeing the Premier League leaders throw away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 to a team 51 places below them in the English league pyramid.
Elimination by Liverpool on Tuesday would see his side’s potential trophy haul cut in half in the space of four days, leaving the west London club with only the league and Champions League as objectives.
“The most important competition now is the [League] Cup because it is the next game,” said Mourinho.
“We lost at home against a lower division team and in an ideal word it will affect us in a positive, not a negative way, like we have to win the next match and let’s go for it. But I don’t know.”