CHELSEA AND FULHAM ADVANCE TO THE ENGLISH LEAGUE CUP SEMIFINALS VIA PENALTY SHOOTOUT VICTORIES.

The English League Cup has the potential to salvage Chelsea’s struggling inaugural campaign under Mauricio Pochettino.

Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Newcastle in a penalty shootout by the London club advanced them to the semifinals; nevertheless, the match was only made possible by a goal by Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk in the second minute of stoppage time, which tied the score at 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Newcastle’s right back Kieran Trippier was one of the two visiting players that missed his penalty kick, and he was also responsible for that goal. The other was Matt Ritchie, as substitute goalie Đorđe Petrović stopped the shootout with a save.

Even though Chelsea has spent over $1 billion on players in the last three transfer windows and has no European events to interfere with its schedule, the team remains stuck in 10th position in the Premier League.

This cup run could be crucial in gaining some momentum for Pochettino, who is beginning to feel some pressure for not being able to get a collection of great players to gel. It was the greatest moment of his less than six-month tenure thus far, given the raucous cheer that filled the stadium following the winning penalty.

Newcastle’s goal was to go to the League Cup semifinals for the second consecutive year. It is the first time in Fulham’s 144-year history that the team has attained that milestone.

A longer penalty shootout was required for Fulham, another west London team, to proceed; defender Tosin Adarabioyo eventually scored the game-winning kick for a 7-6 victory. At 4-3, Amadou Onana had an opportunity to give Everton the victory in the shootout, but his shot was saved.

At Goodison Park, the match ended in regulation with a 1-1 score thanks to a goal from Everton substitute Beto in the 82nd minute, which negated Michael Keane’s own goal.