By Henry Vinter | 8 January 2056
If you want to know how terrifying this Chelsea team is, look no further than the first 30 minutes of this Carabao Cup Semi-Final. Nacho Valera put the ball in the net three times. The scoreboard only counted one. And yet, Liverpool still left the Drogba Arena having been thoroughly dismantled 3-0.
In a game defined as much by the officials in Stockley Park as the players on the pitch, Chelsea took a giant step toward Wembley. They extended their winning streak to 23 matches, effectively killing the tie in the first leg despite playing against both Liverpool and the VAR monitor.
Valera vs. The Linesman
The first half was the Nacho Valera show. The Spanish striker was electric, tearing Liverpool’s backline to shreds at will.
In the 17th minute, he finally got one that counted, burying a penalty into the bottom left corner after a foul in the box. Ironically, VAR checked that one too, just to be sure.
But the real story was the two that got away. Twice in the opening half-hour, Valera broke free to finish clinically past the goalkeeper. Twice, the celebrations were cut short by agonizingly tight offside reviews. On another day, he walks off with the match ball before half-time. Tonight, he had to settle for one goal and a sense of burning injustice.
The Brazilian Tsunami
With Valera engaged in a personal war with technology, his teammates stepped up to ensure the result was never in doubt.
Júnior, continuing his rich vein of scoring form, doubled the lead in the 36th minute with a “powerful close range effort”. The winger is playing with a freedom that makes his earlier “concerns” seem like a distant memory.
Then, in the dying embers of the game (85th minute), Jairzinho rose to deliver the knockout blow. His “towering header from close range” made it 3-0, ensuring that the second leg at Anfield will likely be a formality.
Kardec’s Iron Curtain
While the forwards dealt with disallowed goals, the defense dealt with… well, nothing. Liverpool were suffocated.
The Reds managed just 2 shots all game, accumulating a pathetic 0.17 xG. Much of that credit goes to Alan Kardec. The Brazilian center-back was a colossus, earning the Player of the Match award with a 7.9 rating. He won headers, intercepted passes, and ensured that goalkeeper Hasitha Mohamed Risvi had the night off.
23 Wins. One Foot in the Final.
Calin Dimario will be furious about the disallowed goals in private, but in public, he can only smile. His team has won 23 games in a row. They have scored 7 goals in two games against top-four rivals (United and Liverpool) without conceding a single goal.
Liverpool came to London hoping to keep the tie alive. They leave knowing they were lucky to only lose 3-0.