Source: Daily_Mail
Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (AET, 4-3 on pens): 10-man Blues through after ending penalty hoodoo
According to Wednesday night's team-sheet Carlo Ancelotti is still in charge at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]But that misprint was the last thing on Andre Villas-Boas' mind as Chelsea ended their penalty shoot-out hoodoo but were pushed to the limit by Fulham before Bryan Ruiz's miss handed their west London rivals a place in the Carling Cup fourth round.[LNB] Celebration time: Ross Turnbull, Florent Malouda and David Luiz start the party[LNB]MATCH FACTSChelsea: Cech 6 (Turnbull 46, 7); Ferreira 7, Luiz 7, Alex 6, Bertrand 7; McEachran 6 (Terry 52, 7), Romeu 7, Malouda 6; Sturridge 6 (Lampard 44, 6), Lukaku 8, Kalou 6. Subs not used: Mata, Drogba, Mikel, Bosingwa.[LNB]Red card: Alex[LNB]Fulham: Schwarzer 6; Kelly 6, Grygera 7, Senderos 6, Briggs 7; Gecov 6 (Sidwell 90), Kasami 6 (Zamora 79), Baird 7, Frei 7; Sa 6 (Dembele 59, 6), Ruiz 6. Subs: Etheridge, John Arne Riise, Kacaniklic, Halliche.[LNB]Yellow card: Frei.[LNB]Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku[LNB]Attendance: 37,632.[LNB]Referee: Chris Foy 6.[LNB]The Costa Rican's spot-kick crashed on to the underside of the bar but the ball did not fully cross the line.[LNB]The striker was not the only Fulham player to endure penalty agony as Patjim Kasami missed from 12 yards in normal time before Moussa Dembele fluffed his shoot-out effort.[LNB]It was only Chelsea's second penalty shoot-out win in nine and Villas-Boas said: 'I was made aware of our record before the game by one of our players, so it's nice to be able tobreak that. The fact we were down to 10 men makes that win very gratifying.'[LNB]Villas-Boas took his first proper look at ?18million striker Romelu Lukaku, giving the teenage striker hisfirst start since last month's move from Anderlecht. [LNB]In addition to Lukaku, Josh McEachran, Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand all started at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]Lukaku's strike-partner, Daniel Sturridge, carved out the first chance of the night, his low strike froma tight angle ruffling the side netting.[LNB] Denied: Ross Turnbull dives to save Pajtim Kasami's penalty[LNB]Chelsea did not have it all their ownway and they were indebted to Alex for an excellent challenge on Karim Frei two minutes later as the youngster burst though.[LNB]Three minutes later, everyone at Stamford Bridge caught a glimpse of why Chelsea spent two years chasing Lukaku.[LNB] [LNB] Chalked off: Josh McEachran saw his strike ruled out[LNB] [LNB] McEachran stroked a beautiful pass toset his fellow teenager away down the right. Confronted with Fulham left-back Matthew Briggs, Lukaku bundled the young defender to the floorbefore hitting a low rasping drive that Mark Schwarzer did well to parry.[LNB]The whole landscape of the clash changed in the 48th minute. Kerim Frei was about to pull the trigger when Alex came through the back of him, resulting in a penalty to Fulhamand a red card for the defender. [LNB]No chance: Alex remonstrates with Peter Walton in vain after receiving his red card[LNB]However, any joy the noisy travellingsupport felt quickly ended when Kasami blasted his kick on to the bar.[LNB]Even with 10 men, Chelsea dominated possession and John Terry, on for McEachran, thought he had snatched victory 12 minutes from time when his header was cleared off the line byChris Baird.[LNB][LNB] [LNB] Bundled over: Romelu Lukaku meets a gaggle of Fulham defenders (left) while Chelsea appear to be stuck in the past[LNB] The extra 30 minutes were predictablycagey, with no one wanting to make the mistake that could their side the game. David Luiz and Florent Malouda both had half-chances before Steve Sidwell volleyed Stephen Kelly's cross just over the bar in the 118th minute as the game went to penalties.[LNB]Lampard missed the first but Terry, David Luiz, Kalou and Malouda all converted as Chelsea edged through.[LNB][LNB] [LNB] Give Torres a break, says Fulham boss Jol ahead of Carling Cup derby LIVE CARLING CUP: All the third round action as it happenedAnelka ponders Blues future, admitting he may have to leave next summerDouble vision! AVB will pick powerful strikers and young talent to face FulhamRemember when they all took the Carling Cup seriously?All the latest Chelsea news, features and opinionAll the latest Fulham news, features and opinion[LNB]
