Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that his side lacked the quality required to beat Liverpool in last night's League Cup tie at Anfield.
The Blues were held to a 1-1 draw in the semi-final first-leg clash to set up a finely poised return meeting next next week.
Eden Hazard had given the visitors a first-half lead from the penalty spot, but Raheem Sterling's strike shortly before the hour denied Chelsea the win.
"We played to the top of our potential and so did Liverpool, it was a proper semi-final," Mourinho told Sky Sports News. "I think it was a fair result. Liverpool did not deserve to win this game, but we were in control.
"The way they played with three defenders we had a lot of space to counter-attack, but we were not very efficient in our passing. We had plenty of half-chances with the space we had, but with more quality we would have scored more goals."
Chelsea return to action on the weekend when they play host to Bradford City in the FA Cup.
Daniel Lewis
