Tottenham Hotspur gained sweet revenge over north London rivals Arsenal as goals in each half by Son Heung-min and Dele Alli earned them a 2-0 win on Wednesday and a League Cup semi-final place.
Seventeen days after losing 4-2 in a pulsating Premier League clash, in-form Tottenham returned to the Emirates to claim a first away victory over Arsenal in eight years and set up a two-legged semi against Chelsea.
Son opened the scoring against the run of play with a stylish 24th-minute effort from Alli's pass and Alli doubled Tottenham's lead with a delightful dinked finish on the hour.
Shortly afterwards Alli appeared to be struck by a plastic bottle thrown from the Arsenal fans but it did not dampen Tottenham's night as they took a step towards a first trophy under Manchester United target Mauricio Pochettino.
Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min has scored his sixth goal of the season in his club's 2-0 win over Arsenal in League Cup on December 19. /VCG Photo
Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min has scored his sixth goal of the season in his club's 2-0 win over Arsenal in League Cup on December 19. /VCG Photo
“It's a big derby, last time we were here we didn't have a great result and this is a special night,” Son said.
Arsenal had gone 22 matches unbeaten in all competitions under new manager Unai Emery until Sunday's league defeat at Southampton and a second loss in four days was a bitter pill to swallow.
The hosts played well in patches but were guilty of wasting several chances, especially before the break.
Tottenham keeper Paulo Gazzaniga, in for rested Hugo Lloris, was also inspired when he needed to be, clawing an Aaron Ramsey volley on to the post just before halftime.
The Argentine was first Spurs goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet away at Arsenal in any competition since November 1998.
Hazard fires Chelsea through
Elsewhere, an 84th-minute Eden Hazard goal, which spun into the net after a heavy deflection, earned Chelsea a place in the League Cup semi-finals after a 1-0 win over Bournemouth in an entertaining tie on Wednesday.
Chelsea's Eden Hazard (L) celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the League Cup clash with Bournemouth with Emerson Palmieri on December 19. /VCG Photo
Chelsea's Eden Hazard (L) celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the League Cup clash with Bournemouth with Emerson Palmieri on December 19. /VCG Photo
Chelsea had buzzed round the Bournemouth goal for much of the game but it was not until substitute Hazard came on with half an hour to go that they looked creative and decisive enough to break through.
Chelsea had piled on the pressure from the start and there were good chances for Olivier Giroud, Ross Barkley, who forced a diving save from Artur Boruc and Willian, who surged forward from the halfway line after 30 minutes only for Boruc to block his rising shot.
Bournemouth looked dangerous on the break and Callum Wilson ran through on goal in the 17th minute but pulled his shot wide.
A scampering run from Jordon Ibe opened up the Chelsea defense 20 minutes later and Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had to fly to his left to keep out Lys Mousset's curling shot.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek looked certain to break the deadlock early in the second half after rounding two players but his shot flew inches past Boruc's post.
Chelsea brought on first Pedro then Hazard and it was a combination of the Spaniard and Belgium's Hazard that made the goal.
Chelsea will play Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals.
Source(s): Reuters