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Chelsea news: Why Blues did not deserve Tottenham loss - Joe Cole
CHELSEA were the better team despite losing 1-0 to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Wembley on Tuesday.
Tottenham: Harry Kane on victory against Chelsea
That is according to former Chelsea and England midfielder Joe Cole.
Tottenham won the game thanks to a first-half penalty from stand-in captain Harry Kane.
After originally being given offside, VAR reversed the decision and Kane scored after referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot.
Chelsea piled the pressure on the Tottenham goal in the second half but could not make the pressure count.
I think on the balance of play Chelsea were the slightly better side
Maurizio Sarri’s side had 56 per cent of possession and eight more attempts at goal than the hosts.
Cole believes Chelsea are in the tie ahead of the second leg in two weeks time and reckons there were plenty of positives to take from the performance.
“Definitely [Chelsea are still in the tie],” Cole said on Sky Sports.
“I thought on the balance of play Chelsea were slightly the better side tonight.
“We can be happy with the performance, you’re always disappointed to come away with a defeat.
“But it was that guy Harry Kane again, we talked about him before the game.
“It was one class run, one class touch and dispatched the penalty and that was the difference.
“But I think on the balance of play Chelsea were the slightly better side.
“But credit to Tottenham, they dug in and defended very well.”
Meanwhile, former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane was impressed with the solidity of his former side’s defence.
“That was a professional, resilient performance by the team,” Keane said.
“[Christian] Eriksen was putting a shift in for the team.
“They defended very, very well as a unit.”