Middlesbrough stun Chelsea to take League Cup semi-final lead

LONDON: Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino bemoaned a familiar lack of cutting edge after his team lost the first leg of their League Cup semi-final 1-0 to Championship side Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Tuesday.

Hayden Hackney scored the only goal on 38 minutes as Pochettino’s expensively assembled array of stars again failed to perform away from home. Chelsea have lost five of their last six away games and 21 times on the road since the beginning of last season -- the most of any Premier League team.

The Blues must turn the tie around when the sides meet again at Stamford Bridge on January 23 to avoid heaping more pressure on Pochettino’s position during a disappointing first season in charge for the Argentine.

“If we assess the performance overall we were the better side, had clear chances, but we didn’t score and weren’t clinical,” said Pochettino. “It happened a lot this season.” Boro boss Michael Carrick could have been forgiven for cursing his luck after losing top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath to injury after just three minutes.

Carrick was also forced to withdraw Alex Bangura inside 20 minutes but the second-tier side were not fazed. “It’s very special,” said the former Manchester United midfielder. “I know it’s a two-legged affair and there is still all to play for, but for what we’ve had to go through, the injuries, the setbacks we’ve had, to beat a team of Chelsea’s quality is unbelievable.”

Middlesbrough had not scored against Chelsea for over 17 years. The Blues had won the past nine meetings by an aggregate score of 21-0. However, the home side ended that drought eight minutes before half-time.

The pace of Isaiah Jones down the right caused Chelsea’s makeshift left-back Levi Colwill problems all night and his low cross was turned in by Hackney from close range. Chelsea, though, should have at least been level at the break had Cole Palmer maintained his fine scoring form in front of goal. The former Manchester City academy graduate has been one of Chelsea’s few big money signings to hit the ground running under Pochettino.

However, Palmer twice failed to hit the target with glorious first-half chances. Firstly, he pulled his shot wide from the edge of the area after pouncing on an errant pass from Jonny Howson, and then he fired over the rebound after Tom Glover fumbled Enzo Fernandez’s effort.