Chelsea suffered a big upset, losing the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final to Championship side Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough is a team worth far less than 100 million euros, but they were able to turn Chelsea and work a miracle. Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick is too good. Michael Carrick was Manchester United's interim manager, winning two and drawing one. However, it is a pity that he still did not get more opportunities at Manchester United. And now, he's writing his own history at Middlesbrough. To lead a team like this to beat Chelsea is a remarkable achievement.
Chelsea had 72 per cent possession and had 18 wild shots, five of which were on target, just failing to score. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, had just six shots on goal with two on target and scored one. In contrast, Middlesbrough have a much higher shooting efficiency. Middlesbrough goalkeeper Glover was impressive, making five saves to keep the ball clean and scoring a game-high score. For Middlesbrough, the biggest contributor was undoubtedly Hackney, whose goal was worth a fortune and helped the team gain the advantage over the two legs.
The biggest culprit in Chelsea's defeat was undoubtedly Palmer. He has too many good opportunities. Among them, in the 30th minute, he had a one-on-one chance and plenty of time to adjust, but his low shot was deflected. Before half-time, Palmer had an empty chance in front of goal, and he kicked it away, which was unbelievable. It's a shame not to go in with this kind of empty goal. It's fair to say that Palmer's performance was disastrous. He could seize any of his many opportunities, but he missed them one by one. Palmer had four unreliable shots on goal and failed to score.
Chelsea managed to make it three wins in a row, beating Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Preston North End in quick succession. Unexpectedly, in this game, Chelsea was beaten back to its original form, and it was too humiliating to lose. You must know that Chelsea have won the last nine meetings with Middlesbrough. The last time Chelsea lost to Middlesbrough was back in '06. Unexpectedly, this time under Pochettino, Chelsea set a new record of shame. Chelsea will play Middlesbrough again in half a month's time, and it is unclear whether Chelsea will be able to complete their revenge by then.