A win would have moved the Blues to within two points of fourth-placed Tottenham and, after soaking up some Spurs pressure, they took the lead when Alvaro Morata headed in Victor Moses’ cross.

But Tottenham levelled just before the break, as Christian Eriksen hit a fierce, dipping effort from 25 yards that dropped just under the bar and over a stranded Willy Caballero.

Alli then took centre stage in the second half, putting Tottenham ahead just after the hour mark when he produced a sublime first touch to bring Eric Dier’s ball under control before slotting beyond Caballero.

The England midfielder was then well-placed to stab in following a goalmouth scramble after a good run by Son Heung-min.

Victory for Tottenham means they moved eight points clear of Chelsea in fifth with seven games remaining.

Chelsea full-back Marcos Alonso described this London derby as a ‘must-win game’ beforehand and it was hard to disagree, given the consequences for Champions League qualification.

Antonio Conte’s side had won just three of their nine league games in 2018 prior to Tottenham’s visit but they did have history in their favour.

Spurs had a torrid record at Stamford Bridge in the league, losing 18 of their 27 games since a late Gary Lineker header secured a 2-1 win in February 1990.

It looked as if their miserable run would continue as, despite dominating possession, they fell behind after an excellent ball by Antonio Rudiger found Moses wide right and the wing-back delivered a perfect cross for Morata to score his seventh headed goal of the season.

From then, the balance of play swung in Chelsea’s favour as they went on the hunt for a second and Hugo Lloris did well to push away a strong Alonso strike.

But Tottenham are a team with momentum. They had not lost in the Premier League since 16 December, winning all four of their previous fixtures, and Eriksen, so often capable of creating something from nothing, delivered a sucker-punch on the stroke of half time with his excellent dipping strike.

From then on the visitors were in control and Alli’s quick-fire not only put paid to Chelsea’s chances of getting a result but possibly their top-four hopes as well.

They will now need to take at least nine points from the 21 available just to overhaul Tottenham’s current total. Given that they have taken just six points from their previous seven games, it would seem a tall task.

The sight of Harry Kane grimacing in pain while clutching his ankle at Bournemouth on 11 March will have been a devastating one for both Tottenham and England fans.

The striker has been in scintillating form this season with an incredible 39 goals in just 43 games in all competitions, so the prospect of him being out for a lengthy spell had threatened to upset Tottenham’s top-four hopes and England’s World Cup preparations.

However, having avoided any significant damage to his ankle, he has made a recovery quicker than anticipated and was fit enough to be on the Tottenham bench at Chelsea. He was introduced with 16 minutes remaining, as Alli’s two goals allowed him to be eased back into action.

With Tottenham just four points behind second-placed Manchester United and an FA Cup semi-final against Jose Mourinho’s men on the horizon, Spurs would appear to have their form – and their key players back – at just the right time.

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Source: BBC

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Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the visitors fell behind after just 128 seconds in the Nou Camp as Lionel Messi shot through the legs of Thibaut Courtois from a tight angle.

Messi then set up Ousmane Dembele to hammer home the second after Cesc Fabregas lost possession.

Marcos Alonso hit the post for Chelsea with a free-kick before Messi’s 100th Champions League goal – after a mistake by Cesar Azpilicueta – took the hosts out of sight.

Alonso was then denied a penalty after a challenge by Gerard Pique as Barcelona joined La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Sevilla in Friday’s quarter-final draw.

Chelsea, meanwhile, join fellow Premier League clubs Manchester United and Tottenham in exiting in the first knockout round.

What next for Conte? 

Chelsea’s elimination by the five-time winners is bound to add to the speculation about manager Antonio Conte’s future.

The Blues’ hopes of retaining the Premier League title ended weeks ago, and they may not even secure the top-four finish they need to return to the Champions League.

Conte’s side are fifth in the table, four points behind Liverpool, with their next league game at home to third-placed Tottenham on 1 April.

They head to Leicester on Sunday for an FA Cup quarter-final knowing defeat will leave them without a trophy for the second time in three seasons.

Conte, who has been in charge since the summer of 2016, has a contract until the summer of 2019 but has had to deny reports of a rift with the club’s owners.

Speaking last month, the 48-year-old Italian said it is his “intention, will and desire” to stay at Stamford Bridge.

However, Chelsea have lost four of their past six league games, including back-to-back defeats by Bournemouth and Watford.

What’s next? 

Chelsea visit Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday (16:30 GMT). Barcelona return to the Nou Camp on Sunday (15:15) as they look to take another big step towards winning La Liga.

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Source: BBC

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The 26-year-old reportedly passed out after a training session at Cobham, and later underwent cardiology tests. Despite being initially cleared to play, Kanté felt unwell on Sunday morning and was left out of Antonio Conte’s squad.

As first reported by The Telegraph, the French midfielder was attended to by team doctors seconds after slumping over in the dressing room. After regaining consciousness, Kanté was sent to a specialist, who found no heart problems.

The incident is thought to have greatly alarmed Kanté’s team-mates at the time, and was brought into sharp relief by the news of Fiorentina captain Davide Astori’s sudden death on Sunday.

Astori played for Conte and several of his backroom staff with the Italian national team, and the Chelsea manager was visibly emotional in paying tribute to the defender before the 1-0 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.

Kanté has reportedly been given a clean bill of health by Chelsea, and is available to feature against Crystal Palace on Saturday, and in the Champions League second-leg tie in Barcelona next week.

Azpilicueta insists Chelsea have plenty to play for

The Chelsea defender César Azpilicueta insists there is plenty to play for in the final two months of the season despite his side’s poor recent form.

Last season’s champions are five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, who visit Stamford Bridge on 1 April, but Azpilicueta is targeting progress on three different fronts.

“We have lost a lot of games already and we don’t have space to make another mistake. We have to go game by game, try to win all of them and qualify for the Champions League. We have three targets to aim for this season,” said the Spaniard.

“We are in a bad position at the moment compared with where we were five games ago,” he added. “We put ourselves in this position and we are disappointed, but we have to bounce back.” Reuters

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Source: Guardian UK

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Silva, also a scorer in the 3-0 win at Arsenal on Thursday, poked in David Silva’s cross at the back post just 35 seconds into the second half.

City dominated the game but had to be patient against a defensively-minded and unadventurous visitors.

Antonio Conte’s side did not have a shot on target in the match.

They have now lost four of their last five Premier League games and remain five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.

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Source: BBC Sport

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The Red Devils had to come from behind after Willian started and finished a flowing move to give Chelsea the lead in the first half.

United pulled level before the break, with striker Romelu Lukaku getting in front of Marcos Alonso inside the area to score against his former club for the first time.

Lukaku then set up Lingard to head home with 15 minutes left, after which Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata had a goal disallowed for offside.

Defeat leaves the Blues in fifth place after Tottenham beat Crystal Palace 1-0 earlier on Sunday.

A run of just one win in their past four league matches, coupled with Spurs’ 10-game unbeaten streak, means they are out of the Champions League places with 10 games remaining.

Chelsea came close to taking the lead at Old Trafford after just four minutes when Morata ran on to Alonso’s brilliant volleyed cross, but his shot hit the bar.

Lukaku, facing the club he played for between 2011 and 2014, had a flying volley superbly saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Lukaku came into the game having scored 12 goals in the Premier League so far this season, but with none – and only four shots on target – against the other teams in the top six.

The Belgian, signed for £75m from Everton last July, had never scored in either seven previous league appearances against Chelsea, or 10 for the Blues during a spell in which he enjoyed more success while on loan at West Brom and Everton.

But the 24-year-old edged in front of Alonso to finish off a neat move involving Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial and end his dry spell against the top flight’s elite.

Lukaku came close to a second when he met Sanchez’s superb ball with a flying left-footed volley, but Courtois denied his international team-mate by tipping the ball over.

He swung the match decisively in United’s favour, though, when he slipped free on the right of the box and chipped in a cross that Lingard nodded home.

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Source: BBC

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The 25-year-old’s current deal at Stamford Bridge expires in 2019 and speculation has linked Courtois with a return to the Spanish capital, where he previously spent three years on loan at Atletico Madrid, and a move to the Bernabeu.

The Belgian has moved to clarify comments he made earlier this month when he said his “heart is in Madrid” but admitted that, while he is in discussions with Chelsea over his future, if Real Madrid contacted his agent they would listen to what the reigning European champions had to say.

Thibaut Courtois in action against Barcelona

“I’m not clear about my future, what I said that my heart is in Madrid was misunderstood,” Courtois said after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday.

“I have two children in Spain, in Madrid, and that’s not easy. I have one year left [here] and I’m happy and talking to Chelsea.

Courtois in action for Atletico Madrid against Real

“They have bet on me from the first moment and that is not forgotten.

“I do not think [Real Madrid president] Florentino Perez calls me, he will call my agent and he will listen to him.”

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In talkSPORT’s live commentary game on Sunday afternoon, Batshuayi staked his claim for more first-team action with two first-half goals at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgian is still on the peripheral in the Blues squad, but his brace against the Magpies took his tally for the season up to ten goals – not a bad return considering 14 of his 25 appearances have come off the substitutes’ bench, many in the dying embers.

Batshuayi was twice denied a hat-trick by Magpies goalkeeper Karl Darlow after the break, before another fine free-kick from Spanish full-back Marcos Alonso wrapped up a straightforward win for Chelsea.

Newcastle battled well and started the game impressively, with Chelsea struggling to hold on to the ball in the first half.

The hosts might have gifted a goal to Newcastle, but Dwight Gayle spurned the chance after Davide Zappacosta’s poor pass was intercepted, and Willy Caballero then saved a Jonjo Shelvey volley.

Chelsea could only muster half-chances, until a brilliant move saw Batshuayi break the deadlock on 31 minutes.

A lot of credit must go to Pedro, whose fine defence-splitting pass found Hazard on the right wing and led to the goal. Hazard held up the ball and laid it up for the on-rushing Alonso, who had the presence of mind to play the ball on for Batshuayi to tuck in unmarked at the back post.

There may have been a suspicion of offside, but without the Video Assistant Referee, there was no review and the goal stood.

Batshuayi, enjoyed further good fortune moments later as he made it 2-0 in the stroke of half-time – Pedro and Hazard combined to find the striker, whose shot ballooned up off the leg of Jamaal Lascelles, over the goalkeeper and into the net.

To their credit, Newcastle didn’t give up and they were frustrated by stand-in goalkeeper Caballero, who saved again from Shelvey and Chancel Mbemba in quick succession.

But Chelsea sealed the win in the 72nd minute when Alonso struck a brilliant 25-yard free-kick for his seventh goal of the season.

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Source: Talksport

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After a goalless first leg, Eden Hazard put Chelsea ahead before an own goal from Antonio Rudiger levelled it, and Granit Xhaka’s winner took Arsenal to Wembley.

It came only two days after Sanchez’s drawn-out transfer to Manchester United was completed, with the Gunners getting Henrikh Mkhitaryan in return.

A miserable couple of months for Arsenal has seen them drop to sixth in the Premier League, 23 points behind leaders Manchester City, and lose to Championship Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

But now this vital victory keeps them on course to win their fourth trophy in five years – and with it claim the only domestic competition that Arsene Wenger has not won in his 21 years at the club.

“I felt that in January we paid a heavy price for uncertainty in our dressing-room,” said the 68-year-old. “Now we are back with more clarity. We know what we have to do. We can focus on our game.

“We lost a great player in Alexis Sanchez but when a team doesn’t know what’s going on in the dressing room there is less clarity and focus on performances. We know we have to deal with it now.”

The Gunners, bidding to win this competition for the first time since 1993, meet Manchester City in the final at Wembley on 25 February after Pep Guardiola’s side saw off Bristol City in the other semi-final.

A much-needed boost for Arsenal
With supporter unrest at Emirates Stadium growing in recent weeks, the home fans were left fearing the worst after only seven minutes when Tiemoue Bakayoko played the ball into Pedro and he released Hazard, who slotted past David Ospina from 12 yards out.

But rather than collapsing, the Gunners responded with one of their best defensive performances of the season – and gained two slices of luck with their goals – to move into their first League Cup final since 2011.

Chelsea, third in the Premier League and undefeated in 12 matches in all competitions, only managed one more shot on target and Arsenal equalised within five minutes as Nacho Monreal’s header bounced off Marcos Alonso, then Rudiger and into the net.

There was also a touch of fortune about the Gunners’ second as Alexandre Lacazette’s pull-back rebounded off Rudiger and Xhaka pounced from close range.

Arsenal might have added a third but Alex Iwobi’s shot was blocked by the legs of Willy Caballero – however, the miss did not prove costly.

The Gunners, who saw a £43.6m bid for Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rejected earlier on Wednesday, held out to claim the win as they look for their first League Cup success in 25 years.

A long-awaited debut for Barkley
Chelsea’s ongoing pursuit of a target man has seen West Ham’s Andy Carroll, Stoke’s Peter Crouch and ex-Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko all linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in this transfer window.

And with Alvaro Morata out with a back injury, Antonio Conte’s lack of imposing options in attack saw the Blues boss opt for a pacy and diminutive front three of Pedro, Hazard and Willian.

The selection paid off inside seven minutes when Pedro set up Hazard for the game’s first goal, but a hamstring injury suffered by Willian later in the half forced an alteration, with England midfielder Ross Barkley introduced off the bench for his Chelsea debut.

The £15m arrival from Everton was making his first appearance of the season after hamstring surgery but was immediately in the action, first being heavily challenged by Jack Wilshere before escaping a booking after a clumsy foul on Laurent Koscielny.

Barkley started on the left, moved over to the right and later appeared in the middle but could not make an impact and, unsurprisingly after such a lengthy absence, struggled for fitness. However, his late corner did give Rudiger a chance but the German defender headed over.

Without an England appearance since May 2016, Barkley will have a lot of work to do in the second half of the season if he is to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans.

Meanwhile, it was another impressive night for one of Barkley’s rivals for a berth in the England set-up, with Wilshere – no stranger to injury setbacks himself – continuing his fine form in the Arsenal midfield.

Ross Barkley’s last England appearance came in a 2-1 friendly win over Australia on 29 May, 2016 and he was part of the squad for Euro 2016 but did not feature in any of the matches
‘Barkley has to be more productive’ – analysis
Ex-England midfielder Jermaine Jenas on BBC Radio 5 live:

I gave Chelsea a lot of praise in the first half but they didn’t really open up Arsenal apart from their goal. After that they were a bit stale unless Eden Hazard was on the ball.

I was disappointed with Barkley but we’ve got to give him time. He’s going to have to work something out very quickly. He has to take responsibility. He needs to be more productive, score goals and make things happen and be the player that Chelsea have bought.

Fair play to Arsenal. In the first half I was worried, it wasn’t looking good. A completely different team came out in second half, they got themselves back into the game and I think the better team won.

Chelsea didn’t offer enough or do enough. Most of those Chelsea players can’t look at themselves and say they deserved to win that game. Managers are often stubborn but Arsene Wenger saw his team needed help at half-time. Moving Mohamed Elneny back [into defence] was a stroke of genius.

Nacho Monreal
Nacho Monreal had been a doubt for this game after being substituted in the first half of the game against Crystal Palace with a leg injury.

As well as being involved in the opening goal, he had a pass completion rate of 90%, made three tackles, four interceptions, three clearances and blocked two shots.

Arsenal will play in their eighth League Cup final. Only Liverpool (12) and Manchester United (nine) have appeared in more (Aston Villa and Spurs also on eight).
Chelsea have now lost just twice in their last eight away games versus Arsenal in all competitions (won three, drew four, lost two).

Eden Hazard has netted three goals in his last two Chelsea games in all competitions, as many as in his previous 14.
Ross Barkley made his first competitive club appearance in 248 days, since playing against Arsenal at the Emirates with Everton on 21 May, 2017.

This was Chelsea’s first loss in 13 matches, since a 1-0 defeat by West Ham on 9 December in the Premier League.
‘Happy to take our fans to Wembley’ – what they said
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, speaking to Sky Sports: “In the first half we gave Chelsea too much respect and distance. We were a bit scared to go for it and we suffered from that.

“We were not playing in the right position but we amended that in the second half and took control of the game. We knew we could perform better in the second half and that’s what we did. In the first half we watched them play a bit but we were tighter after the break.

“We have some time to prepare for the final but we are happy to take our fans to Wembley. We’ve been there a few times now and we’re happy to be going again.”

Chelsea coach Antonio Conte told Sky Sports: “My thoughts are there is disappointment for the final result.

“My players must be pleased with their effort, we tried to reach the final, we conceded two goals and we were unlucky, two deflections.

“It is a pity because we had a good run in this competition, it is a pity for me, the players and fans. We started very well, played a good first half and in the second half I saw a lot of balance.

“When there is an injury to one of your best players it is not simple, especially when on the bench the only substitute is Ross Barkley.

“Barkley has a lot of space for improvement, he is working with us only two weeks but for sure today I was forced to make this substitution, but he can improve a lot.”

What’s next?
Arsenal are not in action again until Tuesday, 30 January (19:45 GMT) when they visit the Premier League’s bottom club Swansea. Chelsea host Newcastle in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, 28 January (13:30 GMT) before a return to Premier League action at home to Bournemouth on Wednesday, 31 January (19:45 GMT).

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Source: BBC

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Goals from Willian, Victor Moses and a brace from Eden Hazard saw the Blues move back up to third in the Premier League.

All eyes were on the game as out-of-form striker Alvaro Morata missed the game due to suspension, giving second choice Michy Batshuayi a chance to impress.

While the Belgian did not score, the Chelsea front line looked more fluid than it has done in recent games.

And many Chelsea fans were quick to draw comparisons to a Chelsea team with and without the Spaniard.

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Source: Talksport

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The 24-year-old has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with last season’s Premier League champions and will wear the number eight shirt.

Barkley, who leaves Everton after 13 years at the club, has not played for seven months because of a hamstring injury and had surgery in August.

“He’s very young and has a lot of space for improvement,” said Chelsea boss Antonio Conte.

Upon signing for the Premier League champions, Barkley said: ‘I’m overwhelmed, I’m looking forward to it and I’m really excited to get started.

‘To be given a fresh start at a new club like Chelsea, it’s unbelievable for me. I’m looking forward to continuing where I left off at the end of last season and hoping to improve and add more goals to my game.’

Club director Marina Granovskaia added: ‘Ross is a player we have long admired and are certain he will prove to be an important player for Chelsea. He possesses outstanding technical and physical attributes, matched with good experience of the Premier League and a strong desire to succeed at the highest level. We welcome him to the club and look forward to seeing him in action.’

Barkley arrives with a wealth of experience for a player so young, having already made 150 Premier League appearances for Everton, as well as being named in England squads for both the World Cup and European Championships.

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Source: BBC Sport

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