Big guns to clash in League Cup semis

LONDON. — Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte said he is relishing the opportunity to face former club Chelsea in the League Cup semi-finals after his side moved a step closer to ending their 13-year trophy drought with a 2-1 win against West Ham United.

Tottenham, runners-up to Manchester City in the competition last season, made it to the semis thanks to first-half goals by Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura on Wednesday night.

Conte guided Chelsea to the English Premier League title in the 2016-17 campaign and the FA Cup crown the following season.

“For sure it’ll be nice to play against Chelsea for me,” Conte told reporters. “I spent two amazing seasons with Chelsea and enjoyed everything there, but now I’m the manager of Tottenham and I’m ready to give everything for this club.”

Arsenal face Liverpool in the other semi-final and Conte said at this stage of the competition there is no easy draw.

“When you reach the semi-final, for sure in England to lift the trophy is very difficult. You find Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, then Tottenham. “West Ham, they eliminated Manchester United and Manchester City. In England the level is very high. .. now let’s see. It’s a good game.” The semi-finals are scheduled to be played over two legs in January.

The last major trophy claimed by Spurs was the 2008 League Cup, when they beat Chelsea in the final.

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel praised his academy players for stepping up on short notice and helping the club to a 2-0 win over Brentford in the League Cup on Wednesday.

Teenagers Harvey Vale, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons were included in the starting 11 for the quarter-final after a string of Covid-19 cases left the Chelsea squad depleted.

“They did well,” Tuchel told reporters. “They hadn’t trained for a week because the academy was closed for Covid-19.

“We invited them into training two days ago, so two sessions with us. They listened carefully and did their jobs, they did good.”

The trio of academy players were taken off in the second half, with the game still at 0-0.

Tuchel brought on regulars Jorginho, Reece James, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante in the second half to great effect, with James’s cross leading to a Pontus Jansson own goal and Jorginho scoring a penalty in the 85th minute. “We knew we could have five big changes with a lot of quality, and also fresh legs because they were not overused,” Tuchel said. — AFP.