Chelsea too strong for Reds
Lampard helped his side into the last four of the competition
Wednesday, 19, Dec 2007 10:58
Defending champions Chelsea have beaten Liverpool 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup at Stamford Bridge.
Frank Lampard broke the deadlock midway through the second half before Andriy Shevchenko made the tie safe just before the final whistle.
The Reds saw their chances of snatching a win take a significant blow when they were reduced to ten men immediately after Lampard's opener.
Peter Crouch was dismissed for a clumsy two-footed challenge which hampered the visitors as they tried to galvanise themselves into action having gone behind.
Liverpool fielded a much-changed side from the one that faced Manchester United on Sunday, while the Blues showed their commitment to the competition by naming a strong line-up that was only missing the injured John Terry.
The disparity in Premier League experience between the sides did not show at the start of the game as both teams worked hard to close down their opponents.
Midway through the first half Lampard found himself with a goalscoring chance but Liverpool's reserve goalkeeper Charles Itandje saved well.
Soon after that Lucas Leiva forced Petr Cech to show his qualities but there was little other goalmouth action in a tight opening period.
Chelsea began to assert their authority on the game in the second half and dominated both territory and possession.
Michael Essien saw his shot tipped round the post before Lampard hit the back of the net. His long-range effort deflected off Jamie Carragher and past Itandje.
Straight after the kick-off Crouch lunged in at Jon Obi Mikel and was rightly dismissed.
Shevchenko then fired home from a tight angle in the final minute of the match to hand the Blues a deserved victory.