Surprise in the Carabao Cup: Chelsea are losing vs Middlesbrough and Palmer is to blame

Chelsea have one goal this Tuesday: to get a positive result in their visit to Riverside that will allow them to get closer to the final of the Carabao Cup. They know they have the advantage in this semifinal clash, as they face Middlesbrough, a lower-quality team that is 12th in the Championship, England's second division.

But coach Mauricio Pochettino does not want his team to relax and that is why he decided that all the stars of the squad will be on the pitch, regardless of the fact that in just five days they will face Fulham at Stamford Bridge, for the 21st Premier League matchday. This is because the Carabao Cup is one of the main objectives for The Blues, as they are only 3 games away from winning a title.

However, things are not going as they had hoped. During the first half Middlesbrough found a way to even the match and that difference in quality between the two teams is not visible on the pitch. In fact, the hosts created a few chances to score, including Hayden Hackney's opener after 37 minutes. And they did so despite the bad luck of having suffered the injury of two important players, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Bangura, who had to be replaced.

The Blues also had chances to score, but failed to do so mainly because of Cole Palmer's lack of accuracy. The former Manchester City player had three chances, but in two of them he shot the ball wide and in the third one goalkeeper Tom Glover saved it. The most incredible of these came in the final minutes of the first half, when Glover failed to control the ball after a shot from Enzo Fernandez and Palmer, inside the box and with the keeper out wide, shot wide.

Coach must not be satisfied

Mauricio Pochettino put his best players on the field on Tuesday and still things are not going well. That's why he might make changes after the break. The substitutes are Marcus Bettinelli, Lucas Bergstrom, Alfie Gilchrist, Williams, Golding, Mikhailo Mudryd, Deivid Washington and Armando Broja.