LONDON: Thomas Tuchel was delighted for Chelsea fans when his squad was drawn to face Tottenham in the semi -finals of the English League Cup.

The Blues beat Brentford in the quarter -finals early this morning, but had to wait until late in the game before Pontus Jansson’s own goal and Jorginho’s penalty sealed the victory.

Chelsea will meet former manager Antonio Conte in the last four rematch in January.

“Tottenham are great for our fans. Meeting London’s neighbors, we can’t wait for the match and we want to be there.

“I’m happy with this result, a great result and an amazing performance even in this situation,” Tuchel said.

Without the involvement of some COVID-19 positive key milestones and injuries, Tuchel had to drop teenage players from the Chelsea academy.

Harvey Vale, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons were given their debut appearances, while Malang Sarr, Ross Barkley and Saul Niguez were also listed in the encounter.

“They did well. They didn’t train for a week and we invited them for two training sessions with us.

“They listened carefully and did their job. Praise be to the seven players who played with them, they made sure everything went smoothly,” he said.