Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup quarter-finals as goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling were enough to beat Championship side Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge.
French centre-back Badiashile, making his first start for Chelsea since May, opened the scoring on the half-hour mark after Rovers keeper Leopold Wahlstedt palmed Conor Gallagher’s cross from a short corner straight to him inside the area.
Sterling doubled the lead with nearly an hour gone when he ran on to Cole Palmer’s interception and curled the ball into the far corner.
Blackburn’s best chance came in the final moments, when substitute Arnor Sigurdsson was played through but denied by a fine Robert Sanchez save.
Chelsea have struggled in the Premier League this season, sitting 11th in the table with just three wins from 10 games, but their Carabao Cup performances have been a positive and moving one step closer to some silverware will be a timely boost for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
More to follow…
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Sánchez
- 24JamesSubstituted forGustoat 61′minutes
- 2Disasi
- 5BadiashileSubstituted forColwillat 61′minutes
- 3Cucurella
- 16Ugochukwu
- 8FernándezSubstituted forMatosat 87′minutes
- 20PalmerSubstituted forMaduekeat 87′minutes
- 23Gallagher
- 7Sterling
- 15JacksonSubstituted forCaicedoat 76′minutes
Substitutes
- 11Madueke
- 25Caicedo
- 26Colwill
- 27Gusto
- 28Petrovic
- 29Maatsen
- 36de Souza Eugênio
- 52Matos
- 54Castledine
Blackburn
Formation 4-1-3-2
- 12Wahlstedt
- 2Brittain
- 4Hill
- 17CarterSubstituted forS Whartonat 61′minutes
- 3PickeringBooked at 23mins
- 23A Wharton
- 18MarkandaySubstituted forDolanat 61′minutes
- 27Travis
- 24MoranSubstituted forSigurdssonat 74′minutesBooked at 81mins
- 20LeonardSubstituted forEnnisat 74′minutes
- 30Garrett
Substitutes
- 6Tronstad
- 7Sigurdsson
- 10Dolan
- 11Rankin-Costello
- 14Ennis
- 15Gamble
- 16S Wharton
- 25Batty
- 34Hilton
Live Text
Match ends, Chelsea 2, Blackburn Rovers 0.
Second Half ends, Chelsea 2, Blackburn Rovers 0.
Corner, Blackburn Rovers. Conceded by Robert Sánchez.
Attempt saved. Arnór Sigurdsson (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jake Garrett with a through ball.
Attempt missed. Malo Gusto (Chelsea) right footed shot from the right side of the box is too high. Assisted by Marc Cucurella with a cross.
Foul by Conor Gallagher (Chelsea).
Callum Brittain (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Malo Gusto (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jake Garrett (Blackburn Rovers).
Foul by Alex Matos (Chelsea).
James Hill (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. James Hill (Blackburn Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Substitution, Chelsea. Alex Matos replaces Enzo Fernández.
Substitution, Chelsea. Noni Madueke replaces Cole Palmer.
Offside, Chelsea. Marc Cucurella tries a through ball, but Cole Palmer is caught offside.
Attempt missed. Raheem Sterling (Chelsea) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right misses to the left. Assisted by Enzo Fernández.
Attempt missed. Jake Garrett (Blackburn Rovers) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Adam Wharton with a cross.
Foul by Malo Gusto (Chelsea).
Arnór Sigurdsson (Blackburn Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Arnór Sigurdsson (Blackburn Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.