Chelsea went to Leeds United this evening to reignite a rivalry that dates back a number of years.
As rivalries go, this Capital One Cup tie was timid affair, with very few dangerous tackles being made by either side.
At half-time it looked as though Championship side Leeds were going to spring an upset when they held a 1-0 lead. However, five unanswered goals after the restart saw Chelsea book their place in the semi-finals with minimal fuss.
You can find out how the match unfolded with our minute-by-minute commentary below.
Evening all. What we've got on our hands tonight is a rather interesting Capital One Cup tie which contains two teams and two managers that don't exactly like each other! That'll do nicely for a Wednesday evening!
It seems strange that a club from Yorkshire and another from London would have such a bitter rivalry. After all, this is not a derby fixture - not even close. But the fact of the matter is that there is no love lost between these two which dates back a number of years.
I could now list a number of facts and figures regarding red cards and fouls to back up that point. However, this tackle by Eddie McCreadie on Billy Bremner during the 1970 FA Cup final does all the necessary talking. Ouch!
Yorkshire Police also seem to be worried about this encounter. Under cup match guidelines, visiting teams are usually allocated more tickets than they would receive for a league match. However, the authorities have only allowed 3,000 Chelsea fans to attend the fixture. In the last round, Everton took 5,000 to Elland Road.
This will in fact be the first time that Chelsea have made the trip to Yorkshire in nine years. Looking back, it was a match that highlighted which direction both these clubs were heading in. Since the 1-1 draw, Chelsea have won numerous trophies - including the Champions League, while Leeds have suffered two relegations as well as a promotion back to the Championship.
There's no team news just yet, although we are expecting to receive it shortly. We're anticipating Rafa Benitez to name a strong Chelsea side though. After all, with Swansea City, Aston Villa and Bradford City as the other semi-finalists, you'd have to fancy Benitez's men to win the competition if they come through tonight.
Here we go then, the team news is in...
LEEDS XI: Ashdown; Byram, Lees, Pearce, Peltier; Green, Tonge, Brown, Thomas; Becchio, Diouf
So, if someone is going to stoke up this rivalry, my money is on El-Hadji Diouf! He will start up front for the home team, who also include the experienced Michael Brown and Michael Tonge in their lineup.
CHELSEA X1: Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Bertrand; Lampard, Oscar, Moses, Mata, Marin; Torres
Well it's a fairly safe bet that Benitez is determined to win this match and the competition. He's named a rather strong lineup for this one. Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, Oscar, Davis Luiz and Frank Lampard all start.
Also starting for the Blues is German international Marko Marin. The attacker has had slow start to his career at Stamford Bridge thanks to a couple of injuries. However, he's been given the chance to show what he is all about today. He has a big reputation following his stint in Germany - let's see if he can live up to that tonight.
Looking at the two midfields, there is such a contrast in them. Chelsea have the guile of Mata, Oscar, Marin and Victor Moses - all of whom are capable of creating and scoring goals. On the flip side, Leeds have the industry of Brown, Tonge and Green. You'd have to assume that Neil Warnock will be looking for his unit to get at their opposite numbers from the first minute.
Talking of Warnock, it would be fair to say that he is not the biggest fan of Benitez - and vice-versa! The two have got what you would call a frosty relationship. It all dates back to 2007, when Warnock was highly critical of Benitez selecting a weakened Liverpool team for a match against Fulham. Warnock's Sheffield United were eventually relegated, while Fulham survived. Despite it being five years ago, Warnock has never forgiven Benitez!
Benitez has since added fuel to the fire by threatening to sue Warnock if he continued his verbal tirade against him. It should all make for an interesting handshake between the pair!
We've just seen video footage of Chelsea warming up outside the changing room, rather than on the pitch. It is bucketing down outside, but even so! However, it is something that Benitez is believed to have made his players do during his time with Liverpool.
Warnock has just been speaking to Sky Sports News about the tie. He's called upon his players to be on their best form from the first whistle: "We don't want to make a fool of ourselves so we've got to start well. If both sides play to their maximum then they will win. We've got to hope that our bigger players perform."
It really is raining hard in Leeds tonight. That makes for a match where shots from distance are a must. The ball is going to skid of the surface, that's for sure. Who'd be a goalkeeper?!
And here is what Benitez has had to say, also to Sky Sports News: "We will try to do our best from the first minute. We came from Japan and was busy there. It's important to win this game and after we will think about the rest. There's history, but the main thing is to leave things on the pitch and play football."
One meeting that could be interesting tonight is that between Lee Peltier and Fernando Torres. The Leeds defender recently insisted that he does not fear the Chelsea frontman. Will the Spaniard punish those words tonight? With the way Torres performs these days, who knows?!
A bit more on the rivalry before we get started. It seems as though Lampard, who will captain the team tonight, has been informing his Chelsea teammates what to expect.
"We know the history of Chelsea and Leeds," Mata told the Daily Telegraph. "They are always difficult games, competitive between supporters. Lampard told me about the rivalry. He told me the seventies was when it started."
Right, the players are in the tunnel. You can already here the fans outside. It's going to be a great atmosphere at Elland Road, that's for certain. The Leeds fans have missed these sort of nights.
Well, well - we've just seen a rather pleasant handshake between the two managers. That wasn't anticipated, but good to see at the same time!
Chelsea, kicking from right to left, get this quarter-final off and running...
There's hardly been a pause for breath during the opening three minutes. Leeds have come out of the traps quickly but in fairness to Chelsea they've coped well with the threat so far.
SAVE! Chelsea come alive as Oscar feeds through a pass for Moses, who drills straight at Jamie Ashdown from a tight angle. That's a real slick move from the Blues and will act as a warning to Leeds that they cannot switch off at all.
Chelsea have now got a bit of foothold in this tie. They are beginning to knock the ball around with real authority, showing their Premier League class in the process.
A half chance for Leeds goes a begging as Becchio's header across the face of the goal fails to locate a teammate. Any sort of touch from a Leeds player there would probably have diverted the ball into the net.
BOOKING! A strange yellow card for Frank Lampard. The Chelsea skipper ploughs through the back of Diouf, but play is seemingly allowed to go on. Then, three or four seconds later the referee pulls play back, gives a foul and books Lampard. It was the right decision, just took longer than necessary to get there!
Chelsea really are getting stuck in at the minute. This time Oscar trips up Brown, who slides to floor. He turns to the referee and asks "what was that?" It's usually the other way round, with Brown the player committing the fouls!
Now Brown is down clutching his face following a clash off the ball with Mata. He hit the deck as if he'd been struck by a sniper there! Got to say that replays don't exactly show much contact between the pair.
SAVE! Just moments after he is screaming for a penalty, Moses gets up to fire a strike goalwards from the edge of the box. Thankfully for Leeds, Ashdown gets across his goal to tip the ball wide of the target.
CHANCE! Some dancing feet from Mata sees the Spaniard weave his way into the Leeds area. He then opts to shoot, but Pearce gets his head to the ball to clear. The resultant corner then comes to nothing.
It's all gone a little scrappy at Elland Road. Neither side is keeping the ball that well and the wet conditions are beginning to play their part. In fairness, that probably suits Leeds. The last thing they want is Chelsea knocking the ball around the pitch freely.
Another half chance for Leeds is wasted. Diouf swings a cross over to the back post for Green, who in turn knocks the ball down. Becchio's reaction is too slow though and Petr Cech is able to come out and collect the ball.
GOAL! Leeds 1-0 Chelsea (Becchio)
Wow! Where an earth did that come from? Luiz goes on one of his usual forward runs but when Chelsea lose possession, he is out of position. Leeds get the ball out to left for Jerome Thomas, who picks out Becchio all alone inside the area. The Argentine takes an instant low shot, which leaves Cech no chance. Had Luiz have stayed put, the chance probably wouldn't have arrived.
"You're getting sacked in the morning" sing the Leeds at Benitez. Don't laugh, with Roman Abramovich's track record of firing managers, you never know!
SAVE! It's been a positive response from Chelsea, whose skipper Lampard sees his skidding shot from distance saved by Ashdown. It's a smart stop from the Leeds goalkeeper because the ball was travelling at some speed.
CHANCE! A big opportunity for Leeds to make it 2-0. Diouf whips in a teasing cross for Tom Lees, who rises above the Chelsea defence. He makes a firm connection with the ball, but his header goes well over the bar.
We're going to have at least three minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half at Elland Road...
SAVE! Ashdown is having a real stormer for Leeds at the moment. Again Lampard is the player he denies, getting down well to push clear his dipping free kick from 35 yards out.
HALF-TIME: Leeds 1-0 Chelsea
It's not been the most entertaining of fixtures, but I doubt anybody connected with Leeds will care one jot. They may not have seen as much of the ball as Chelsea, but they've battled well throughout that half. More of the same after the restart and they could well be celebrating a spot in the semi-finals.
From a Chelsea point of view, they've seen a lot of the ball and have worked Ashdown on numerous occasions. Having said that, a lot of what the Leeds keeper has had to do has been from distance - shots that you would expect him to save. With the players that they have on the pitch, you would have backed them to have created more clear cut opportunities.
A quick look at the statistics from that half will not make great reading for supporters of the Blues. They've had 56% of the possession and nine shots at goal - six of which have been on target. They've also won six corners and yet they trail.
In contrast, hosting Leeds have had just four shots at goal and two have been on target. Still, it's putting your chances away that matter and Leeds have done that.
Right, the teams are out and Leeds get the second half started. They are 45 minutes away from beating the European champions.
GOAL! Leeds 1-1 Chelsea (Mata)
What a great start to the second half for Chelsea, but it's a moment Ashdown well want to forget. He was at his very best during the first half but on this occasion he let's a low shot by Mata from 20 yards out squirm underneath his right hand. A big 10 minutes coming up for both teams.
Credit to Leeds for the way that they've reacted to losing that early goal. They have just sauntered forward and a cross from Thomas just misses Diouf, who looked certain to head home. That's positive from Warnock's men because they could have retracted into the shell for five minutes or so.
Diouf has had a really good game tonight. You can say what you like about his attitude, but his ability cannot be questioned. He's held the ball up well against the likes of Luiz and Ivanovic, as well as producing some good crosses for his teammates.
SAVE! A big chance for Torres, who plants a downward header from six yards out towards goal. However, the Spaniard's luck in recent months is summed in one moment as the ball strikes Ashdown and bounces clear.
SUBSTITUTION: That's it for Marin. He's not been great tonight and has been replaced by Eden Hazard. That's not a bad substitute to have is it?!
SAVE! Yet another instalment of the Lampard vs. Ashdown show. Again the Leeds keeper comes out on top as he holds the England midfielder's bouncing effort from distance.
GOAL! Leeds 1-2 Chelsea (Ivanovic)
That's textbook stuff from Chelsea, but once again Leeds have themselves to blame. Lampard sends over a corner for Serbian defender Ivanovic, who in turn diverts the ball into the net at near post. It's poor marking from Leeds and they will be kicking themselves.
GOAL! Leeds 1-3 Chelsea (Moses)
What a couple of minutes it has been for Chelsea. Moses has been impressive tonight and he may have put the tie to bed with a drilled shot from 20 yards out that left a sprawling Ashdown no chance. It's his fourth goal of the season and comes so quickly after Ivanovic had put the Blues in front.
SUBSTITUTION: Warnock reacts to the flurry of Chelsea goals by hauling off winger Thomas and replacing him with Aidy White. To be honest, Leeds need a miracle.
BOOKING! I'm struggling to keep up with all these incidents at the moment! Now we have a yellow card for Chelsea defender Ryan Bertrand for a needless trip on Green. A little bit of inexperience showing through from the full-back.
SUBSTITUTION: The feisty Brown is taken off by Leeds and is replaced by the equally competitive David Norris. Diouf also takes his leave and Ross McCormack is summoned onto the pitch.
SUBSTITUTION: And yet another swap, this time for Chelsea. The experienced Ashley Cole comes on for Bertrand. It would be fair to say that England man is not afforded the nicest of welcomes from the home faithful. Still, I'm sure he's used to that!
Leeds look a side that have accepted their fate now. Granted they are pushing forward in numbers, but they are creating very little. Chelsea are simply content to catch them on the break as and when the opportunity arises.
GOAL! Leeds 1-4 Chelsea (Hazard)
And that is game over. Luiz shows why he would probably make a better midfielder than defender by slipping a pass through to Hazard, who beats the offside trap. The young Belgian then keeps his composure to slot the ball beyond an advancing Ashdown, sparking a number of Leeds to head for the exits.
GOAL! Leeds 1-5 Chelsea (Torres)
Torres has scored. I repeat Torres has scored! Although in fairness, it's a goal that I could have converted...probably! Ashdown parries out a shot straight to Hazard, who has the awareness to square for an unmarked Torres inside the six-yard to tap into an empty net. It's harsh on Leeds but Chelsea have been clinical in the second half.
SUBSTITUTION: Mata is given a rest for five minutes as full-back Paulo Ferreira enters the action.
Chelsea are now stroking the ball around the pitch with ease. Leeds, understandably, look a side that do not want to be out there now. They're chasing shadows.
There will be two minutes of stoppage for Leeds to endure...
FULL TIME: Leeds 1-5 Chelsea
Hands up, who saw that coming at half-time? Don't lie! Chelsea were simply devastating after the restart and run riot in the end. From a Leeds point of view, the goal early in the second half changed the match and that was a major reason why Chelsea go into the hat for the semi-finals.
That's about all we have time for from Elland Road. But before we go, here's our match report of the action. Thanks for joining us this evening and be sure to check out our analysis, which will be with shortly.
Written by
Liam Apicella
Liam Apicella
