Chelsea seized control of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, beating their London rivals 2-0 in the first leg on Wednesday thanks to an early strike from Kai Havertz and his own goal from Spurs defender Ben Davies.
The Blues swept their visitors from kickoff and, after a mix-up in the Spurs defense in the fifth minute, Havertz fired an angled shot that was the goal before Davinson Sanchez went into the leg.
Half an hour later, the leading hosts got their second goal, albeit with a piece of luck, when Japhet Tanganga led a Hakim Ziyech free kick, only for the ball to return from Davis' shoulder into the Spurs net.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel told Sky Sports: "It seems like a deserved win, an excellent result because it shows the game, we could have scored more, but it's harder to score against Tottenham."
The victory dashed Spurs' hopes, led by former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, of winning the first trophy since winning the League Cup in 2008. In that time, Chelsea have won 12 major trophies including three Premier League and two Champions League titles.
Regarding Spurs' performance, Conte said: "In the first half, we struggled a lot from the start but we know we are talking about one of the best teams in Europe, last season they played in the Champions League. Had won. If you compare the two teams, there is no comparison. We are talking about a team ready to win - today we have seen the difference between the two teams."
Tuchel restored the record by signing Romelu Lukaku to the squad, ousting him in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, as the Belgian said in an interview that he could not play his role at Stamford Bridge. were unhappy with
Lukaku went close with a first-half header, creating a chance for Ziyech after the break, which was wasted by Morocco and hit an injury-timed shot straight on Hugo Lloris.
"I was pretty sure [Lukaku] was not affected [by the controversy]. Even in the last days he seemed relaxed, okay with the situation and moved on mentally," Tuchel said. . "Romelu can handle pressure and adversities, it was a good performance, he contributed a lot to our defensive set up and there were chances."
Chelsea also welcomed Timo Werner after a period with COVID-19. As a substitute for Havertz at halftime, the German striker flashed a shot wide and then failed to chip Lloris on the clean.
Spurs created a few chances in the second half but the only one that really troubled Chelsea came in the 90th minute when Brian Gill cut the ball wide out to fellow substitute Giovanni Lo Celso, whose shot was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Ziyech said he hopes Chelsea will not regret their missed opportunities to put the tie out of Spurs' reach.
"We forgot to finish the game, too many chances. Hopefully we can find work there," Morocco told Sky Sports.
The second leg of the semi-finals is set to take place on 12 January at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the winners will face either Arsenal or Liverpool.