BlueLion.

Oscar is suspended for this one. EDIT - No he isn't. Amnesty for five yellows has passed.

Okay. You all know I'm a Cech lover and the guy is an inspiration to me. But after the two semi-final legs, Courtois now has my full confidence. He was outstanding.

He was epic tonight. Changed the game.

Also, regarding Costa's stamps:

You forgot the most important person.

This guy is a fucking warrior. An absolute god.

Branislav Ivanovic was the hero as Chelsea booked a place in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley in March. The defender – who famously scored twice up at Anfield in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final in 2009 – rose highest to direct a bullet header beyond Simon Mignolet in the fourth minute of extra time. With the benefit of Eden Hazard’s penalty offering the insurance of an away goal from last week’s 1-1 draw in the first leg, the Blues were on that evening indebted to their goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, who made a string of outstanding saves to deny Brendan Rodgers’ side. And the Belgian number one was once again in fine fettle as he made two excellent first-half saves; repelling efforts from Alberto Moreno and Philippe Coutinho to maintain parity heading into the interval. After the debacle of Saturday’s home humiliation at the hands of Bradford in the FA Cup, an emphatic response was expected from José Mourinho’s men, but faced with another energetic Liverpool side invigorated by their second-half dominance at Anfield, the Blues struggled to impose themselves until the enforced introduction of Ramires after 50 minutes. Chelsea did have their chances as the game wore on, and but for the intervention of Mignolet - who stretched out a leg to block Diego Costa’s deflected drive - the Blues would have taken a late lead. Instead, early in extra time, Ivanovic struck in trademark fashion. Rising highest, the Serbian powered home beyond the exposed Liverpool goalkeeper to send Stamford Bridge into raptures, and the club to Wembley for a first League Cup final since 2008. It is somewhat fitting that Ivanovic, the villain in 2013 when his two mistakes in the first leg of a semi-final clash with Swansea led to the Blues' exit at that stage, would make amends here - but even in spite of his goalscoring heroics, this was a game that will be remembered largely for the wrong reasons in light of a poor refereeing performance by Michael Oliver. If Liverpool will feel aggrieved that their first leg endeavours failed to produce an aggregate lead, then Chelsea experienced a similar degree of disappointment as Oliver failed to point to the spot on two occasions. The game was just five minutes old when Lucas smothered a strike from Willian with an outstretched arm, whilst Costa – who himself was arguably fortunate not to be dismissed for a number of unruly incidents – was blatantly hacked to the ground by Martin Skrtel. Both incidents were in plain view for the referee, and Mourinho looked equal parts bemused and aghast on the touchline that his side had twice been incorrectly denied a penalty. The first opportunity of the game came about when Kurt Zouma, in for Gary Cahill, made a wonderful recovery run and tackle to prevent Raheem Sterling from escaping, whilst Mignolet will have been relieved that Hazard was less than inch away from connecting with a stunning Ivanovic cross. Steven Gerrard, the subject of many a Chelsea taunt for his slip at Anfield that effectively cost his team the Premier League title last season, then split the Blues defence with a raking pass into the feet of Moreno, but the former Sevilla man was thwarted by an excellent one-on-one block by Courtois, who parried the ball out for a corner. Coutinho then wasted a glorious opportunity when he shot straight at Courtois from the edge of the penalty area – and with that moment, arguably, went Liverpool’s chances of stealing the game. From that point onwards, particularly after the half-time break, it was a more efficient Chelsea display. The Blues had been able to tighten up at the back with the addition of Ramires, whilst Hazard was beginning to assert himself with his typical poise and trickery. After a number of clashes between Costa and Liverpool’s Skrtel the game was perilously close to exploding, but when Skrtel reacted angrily to what may have been a deliberate stamp by the naturalised Spaniard, it took the intervention of both John Terry and Gerrard to calm the situation. The match was boiling up dangerously. Hazard then nearly set the game alight himself, but in more poignant fashion, as his terrific drive from midfield resulted in the Belgian hammering a shot narrowly wide of Mignolet’s goal. Chelsea were cranking up the pressure and with Costa, the typical wind-up merchant he is playing the role of chief cheerleader, the Blues were certainly knocking on the door of a Wembley showpiece final. Mignolet then made an excellent improvised save with his feet to prevent Costa’s deflected effort from beating him, before again denying the striker with an outstretched foot as Costa tried to round him. With the unrelenting pace to the game making it quite a spectacle, how it was, at that point, still 0-0 was frankly beyond comprehension. Tempers were again flaring when Jordan Henderson, already in the book for a number of offences, then blatantly blocked an inventive Hazard flick with an outstretched hand. The Chelsea support, baying for blood, pleaded with chants of “Off, Off!”, but the referee showed a degree of leniency towards the former Sunderland man. That extent of charity was then extended to Lucas, who, similarly booked earlier on, committed his umpteenth foul of the evening but escaped without the punishment of a second yellow card. With both sets of players visibly jaded by the furious pace of the game, full-time crept upon the game with both sides seemingly content to battle away for another half-hour. But just four minutes into the additional period, Ivanovic popped up to head in Willian’s excellently flighted free-kick to send the Chelsea fans into ecstasy. Henderson wasted the one glorious chance the visitors were able to conjure when he directed a header wide of a gaping goal, but Chelsea, again more professional than prosaic in possession, hung on with a degree of relative comfort against a Liverpool side that had given absolutely everything over the course of the two legs.

Agreed, there have been some poor individual performances. But we're not losing overall in the tie, which, considering they've had far more clear attempts than we have, is a good thing.

LOOOL look at all the Negative Nancies out in their droves at half-time because we're not 8-0 up. How the fuck we weren't given at least one penalty is beyond me.

HOW ABOUT A FOOKIN PEN REF?

I meant easier, my bad.

Obviously he'll only stay there if they're promoted; a PL loan is the next step for Patch, IMO.

Absolutely fascinating to read. And I think this kind of encapsulates what a few of us have been saying regarding fixtures; City's first "half" to the season was considerably easier than ours, with us really only needing to go to the Emirates in terms of very "difficult" away fixtures. City conversely have a few tense looking trips, such as Old Trafford and of course Stamford Bridge this Saturday. Well worked out and presented, thank you.

With regards to Lukaku, I don't think I'll ever regret us selling him. KbD I wish had stayed, but he was only ever going to be a wide player under Mourinho at best, and if he'd have stayed then we'd probably have gotten rid of Oscar.

Cannot fucking wait for this. I pray to see us handing out a right fucking kicking tonight.

Bye Shirley, please don't score against us in the UCL next season.

Would absolutely love it if we signed him, not going to lie to you.

Transfer news: Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado wants to join ChelseaLast Updated: 26/01/15 10:16am 26Juan Cuadrado: Fiorentina winger wants a move to Chelsea Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado has made it clear he wants to join Chelsea, Sky sources understand. Sky Bet The Serie A club are reluctant to let the Colombian winger leave for anything less thant his £26.8m buyout clause, and Sky Sports News HQunderstands discussions are still ongoing over a potential move to Stamford Bridge before the deadline. No formal offer has yet been accepted for Cuadrado, who played for Fiorentina against Roma on Sunday, and his current manager Vincenzo Montella is at pains to let him leave following 21 goals in 82 appearances for the club. Montella said last week: “I believe, as of today, there are no possibilities he will leave Fiorentina. He knows this and that these situations get exaggerated. “I’m not angry with the media, In this case I’m not referring to the media, but to football. All that is being said is just talk and nothing more. The player is not involved in all of this.” Source: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9661484/colombian-winger-juan-cuadrado-tells-fiorentina-he-wants-to-join-chelsea

If we really wanted him, he'd be here by now. The club look set to sell Schurrle; we've surely learnt from past mistakes not to sell before we buy - so if Schurrle is leaving then it is only a matter of time before he arrives. Right?

Chelsea legend Michael Essien has only furthered his reputation amongst Blues fans by declaring he could never play for another Premier League side. Essien, who left the club on a free transfer for AC Milan in January 2014, played more than 250 times for the West London club, scoring 25 goals and winning multiple major honours. A then record signing from Olympique Lyonnais, the Ghanaian international cost Roman Abramovich a hefty £24.4 million - but that investment can be seen as money well spent. 'The Bison', as Essien was affectionately known amongst the Chelsea faithful due to his marauding runs from midfield and his boundless energy, scored arguably when he volleyed the Blues ahead in an ill-fated draw with Barcelona in 2009. Essien has reportedly snubbed a move to Chelsea's local rivals QPR and has also turned down West Brom as he seeks a new club in Europe - as he does not want to play against his former club. The 32 year old, out of contract with Milan in the summer and unlikely to be handed a new deal, is instead setting his sights on a move elsewhere in Europe. Though UEFA Champions League football could bring about the possibility of Essien one day playing against the Blues in European competition, the Ghanaian has ruled out the possibility of playing for another English club - and is shocked that Frank Lampard could have the heart to do so. Lampard, who left Chelsea for Manchester City in the summer, has not only played against the Blues but also scored against them in a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in September. The Blues' highest scorer of all time is now, injury permitting, set to return to Stamford Bridge for the first time as a rival player - but that is something Essien simply could not stomach. "It will be a very strange situation [for Frank]. I cannot see myself doing that against Chelsea", said Essien. Essien insists that playing against the Blues in Europe - just as Didier Drogba did for Galatasaray last year - would "be different", but claims he could not compete against his club of nine seasons in the Premier League, unlike Lampard. "But, at the end of the day it’s another game and he [Lampard] is a professional". Essien believes that Chelsea fans will not forget what Lampard gave the club: "I believe the Chelsea fans are always going to give him their warmth and respect everything that he did for the club", he said. "I’m sure that they will give him a welcome". With Arsenal supposedly interested in taking the former Blues star on a short-term deal, Essien concluded by saying it would "be difficult" to ever play for a "different team in England. Going back to play your old club when you’ve been there for so long... wow!". Click here to view the article

We won't. We'll attack from minute one.

As Mourinho said about Didier, the same about Cesc. Let's judge him when he leaves Although Drogba and Cech will always be my two favourite Chelsea players, they'll take a lot of beating. Fuck Costa and Courtois

I'm not sure if I'd advocate Schurrle's sale. Not at this stage, and not until a replacement is guaranteed.