Eden Hazard and Filipe Luis, with his first goal for the club, put Chelsea in control on a rain-soaked night at the iPro Stadium, before Craig Bryson replied for Derby in the 71st minute.
But the hosts’ hopes of a comeback were extinguished when centre-back Jake Buxton was sent off for impeding substitute Loic Remy, and Andre Schuerrle made the game safe with eight minutes to play.
“Derby are a Championship side, but not a typical one. They have more quality than that and they play good football with fantastic support,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports. “We played in a very professional way and controlled the game for most of the time. They fought till the end and for a few minutes after they scored they were able to put us in trouble.”
Meanwhile, there was a shock in the evening’s other quarter-final as misfiring Premier League side Southampton crashed out after losing 1-0 to third-tier Sheffield United at a raucous Bramall Lane.
After a promising start to the season, Southampton have lost their last four league games and their dismal run continued as Marc McNulty’s 63rd-minute goal sent Nigel Clough’s side into the last four.
McNulty bundled home after Southampton goalkeeper Fraser Forster fumbled Bob Harris’s fierce free-kick and the visitors finished with 10 men after Florin Gardos was sent off for hauling down McNulty.
It is the second season in succession that United have reached the last four of a major tournament, following their run to the FA Cup semi-finals last season.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2014.
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