Chelsea secured their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a win over Blackburn Rovers, setting up a home clash against Newcastle in the next round.
At Stamford Bridge, goals from Benoit Badiashile and Raheem Sterling were enough to defeat the Championship side. This marked Chelsea’s first home victory since their third-round win against Brighton in late September.
French center-back Badiashile, making his first start for Chelsea since May, opened the scoring in the 30th minute.
This came after Rovers’ keeper, Leopold Wahlstedt, deflected Conor Gallagher’s cross from a short corner right to Badiashile inside the penalty area.
Sterling doubled Chelsea’s lead with almost an hour gone, capitalizing on Cole Palmer’s interception and curling the ball into the far corner of the net.
Blackburn’s best opportunity came in the final moments, with substitute Arnor Sigurdsson played through, but his shot was thwarted by an excellent save from Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez.
While Chelsea has faced challenges in the Premier League this season, currently sitting in 11th place with just three wins in 10 games, their Carabao Cup performances have provided a positive outlook. Progressing to the quarter-finals brings hope of potential silverware and serves as a timely boost for manager Mauricio Pochettino’s team.