Derby County are losing 1-0 at the hands of Chelsea in this evening's League Cup clash at the iPro Stadium, thanks to Eden Hazard's strike midway through the first half.
© Getty Images
The visitors made a confident start to the game, taking control of the ball early on and dominating possession, but endured a nervy moment when Andre Schurrle was booked in the third minute following a cynical foul on Johnny Russell.
Just a few minutes later, the Rams had a chance to open the scoring when Will Hughes released Craig Forsyth, but the left-back smashed his cross into the stands.
The game was fairly even when Chelsea opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, Richard Keogh's mistake pounced upon by Cesc Fabregas, who played it into Hazard's run. The Belgian then cut inside Jake Buxton and fired home to put the Blues into the lead.
By the half-hour mark, Jose Mourinho's charges were in full control of proceedings, with Filipe Luis forcing a save from Lee Grant and Hazard once again coming close.
However, Steve McClaren's charges picked themselves up by the latter stages of the half, putting up a fight and enjoying a good spell of possession, although they were unable to penetrate the Chelsea backline.
In first-half injury time, Blues defender Kurt Zouma was accidentally hit by Petr Cech as the goalkeeper jumped to clear a ball into the box, which led to a lengthy stoppage as the young Frenchman had to be stretchered off.
Giuseppe Labellarte
