Carling Cup semi finals beckon for Newcastle after Chelsea scalp
Published:Carlo Ancelotti will now have to rely on the Champions League if he wants to win a new trophy at Chelsea this season after they were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Newcastle.
Ancelotti guided Chelsea to the Premier League and FA Cup double last season and hopes were high that a good Carling Cup run would be experienced this year as they were installed as the pre-season tournament favourites.
However, despite gaining a favourable home draw against Newcastle and having a good enough squad to make some rotations, they fell to a 4-3 defeat.
Newcastle are 12/1 to win the Carling Cup, but based on the track records of teams that have eliminated Chelsea in recent years, a run to the semi-finals is perhaps more likely.
Not including their victory in the tournament in 2007 and their defeat to Tottenham in the final in 2008, Chelsea have suffered their other three defeats in the last five years on penalties.
Burnley and Blackburn have been the teams responsible in the past two seasons and both have gone on to reach the semi-finals before being eliminated by Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively.
It was Charlton who eliminated Chelsea five seasons ago, with this win also coming in the third round, but they only made it one round further before being eliminated.
Newcastle have failed to get past the third round stage for the past three seasons and the tournament will now provide arguably their best chance of winning any silverware this campaign.
Chelsea’s exit means that Manchester United are the 9/4 favourites to win the Carling Cup, See the whole Carling Cup winners market.
