Everton 1 Chelsea 2:SUBSTITUTE Daniel Sturridge struck late in extra-time as 10-man Chelsea edged out an Everton side also a man down in the League Cup last night.
Louis Saha’s glancing header six minutes from time had denied 10-man Chelsea victory on a night when their roll call of red cards extended to three in two matches.
Ross Turnbull was dismissed for bringing down the Everton goalscorer inside the area, and though Petr Cech came off the bench to make a fine double save from Leighton Baines at the resulting penalty, there was little he could do to prevent Saha taking the game to extra-time when he converted an inviting right-wing cross from the substitute Seamus Coleman.
The visitors should have taken the lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute. John Heitinga ploughed through Josh McEachran as the young Chelsea midfielder gathered the rebound from his shot against Sylvain Distin. Heitinga was spared when Nicolas Anelka ambled forward and sent Mucha the wrong way, but paid for his casual approach as the ball drifted well wide.
Moments later Anelka was bundled off the ball inside the area by Distin, only for the referee, Lee Mason, to wave away appeals. Just as Everton began to settle, however, with Royston Drenthe setting up Bilyaletdinov for another shot that was saved by Turnbull, they threw it away. Literally. There appeared little danger when Salomon Kalou floated a first-time chip from the edge of the area. Mucha, given a rare outing in place of Tim Howard, came to collect with both hands but made a complete hash of the catch and let the ball slip through his grasp and over the line.
Everton won the second spot-kick of the night when David Luiz failed to intercept Tim Cahill’s glancing header and let Saha through on goal. His first touch took him beyond Turnbull but not the keeper’s out-stretched legs, and Mason deemed him the last man and therefore worthy of a red card.
Not that Petr Cech is a bad replacement to summon in an emergency. Cech saved Baines’s penalty, straight down the middle of the goal, and also his rebound, superbly, before Cahill headed the second rebound wide.
EVERTON: Mucha,Neville (Hibbert 46), Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Bilyaletdinov (Coleman 81), Fellaini, Cahill, Rodwell (Stracqualursi 78), Drenthe, Saha. Subs not used: Hahnemann,Barkley,Osman,Vellios. Booked: Fellaini,Drenthe.
Chelsea:Turnbull, Ivanovic, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand, Malouda, Romeu, McEachran (Mikel 64), Anelka, Lukaku (Cech 60), Kalou (Sturridge 85). Subs not used: Lampard, Torres, Mata, Ferreira. Booked: Alex,Mikel.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire).
Guardian Service
