Chelsea eased past Derby County 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the Capital One Cup Tuesday night at the iPro Stadium in the English Midlands. Eden Hazard found the back of the net with the Blues’ first shot in the 23rd minute. That was followed by Filipe Luis’ first goal in a Chelsea shirt in the 56th minute. Luis’ scorcher came through a free kick after Didier Drogba drew a questionable foul a few yards outside of the area.
The home side made it interesting as Derby pulled one back in the 71st minute but came back to earth in the 77th minute as Jake Buxton was sent off on a straight red for hauling down Loic Remy. Andre Schurrle sealed the victory in the 82nd minute by pushing a rebound home.
The murmurs of a quadruple trophy haul will only intensify as Jose Mourinho’s side moves on in the Capital One tourney. Chelsea will await the semifinal draw to learn their next opponent while attempting to secure the club’s fifth League Cup trophy.
In the Champions League, the Blues were drawn with Paris Saint-Germain. The first match of the home and away tie will be played February 17, 2015 in Paris. Chelsea will look to advance past PSG and eye their second Champions League title.
In the FA Cup, Chelsea is slotted to face Watford at Stamford Bridge on January 4, 2015 in the Cup’s third round. The Blues are seeking their eighth FA Cup title.
Finally, the West London side looks to stay in first place in the Premier League over the condensed English Christmas calendar, which will see the Blues play four league matches over eleven days. If Chelsea can emerge from those games on top of the table, they could be the team to beat as they try to collect their fifth English league championship.
One Blue believes in the Quadruple
Cesc Fabregas, fresh off his Man of the Match performance at Derby, fueled the Quadruple talk in an interview with Sky Sports by stating:
"Time will tell. It's all up to us. We definitely have the talent, the discipline and the courage to do it from what I've seen so far from my short time here."
What do you think? Could the Blues win all four?
