Middlesbrough 1 Chelsea 0: Wasteful Blues leave shooting boots at home as Hackney is toast of Teesside

CHELSEA have it all to do if they want to reach the Carabao Cup final.

The Blues lost 1-0 away at Middlesbrough in the first leg of the semi-final.

Getty

Hayden Hackney star sparked wild scenes at the Riverside[/caption]

Reuters

Cole Palmer will know he should have scored[/caption]

And it means the pressure is on to win in the reverse match at Stamford Bridge on January 23.

Plus there will be another 90 minutes for a host of first-choice players in an already-hectic schedule.

Hayden Hackney lost Moises Caicedo in the area as Boro got in behind the Chelsea defence on 37 minutes.

His smart finish from close range sparked wild scenes at the Riverside as fans started dreaming of a trip to Wembley next month.

Middlesbrough could have been ahead earlier after Axel Disasi slid in on Emmanuel Latte Lath with just 40 seconds on the clock – but escaped with no VAR in use.

But at the other end, Cole Palmer will be ruing THREE big misses before the break – dragging one wide, putting a simple rebound over then hitting Tom Glover with another.

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Rex

Hayden Hackney grabbed the only goal of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg[/caption]

PA

Palmer missed a series of great chances[/caption]

AFP

Chelsea will have it all to do in the second leg[/caption]

Mauricio Pochettino looked on glumly as his side failed to find the equaliserAFP