Goalkeeper Brian Jensen was the Burnley hero as Chelsea crashed
out of the Carling Cup on penalties at Stamford Bridge 5-4 on
penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Jensen saved from captain Wayne Bridge and John Mikel Obi to put
the Coca-Cola Championship side into the quarter-finals.
Returning striker Didier Drogba put Chelsea in front in the 27th
minute but Burnley substitute Ade Akinbiyi equalised with 20
minutes remaining.
Both sides ended the game with 10 men after Burnley's Steve
Caldwell was sent off for a second bookable offence late on, while
Franco Di Santo was forced off injured with all Chelsea's
substitutes already used.
But Jensen sparked scenes of celebration when he saved Obi's
sudden-death spot-kick to put the second-tier side into the last
eight.
Burnley had already beaten Bury, Oldham and Fulham to reach the
fourth round and brought 6,500 fans to Stamford Bridge in the hope
of witnessing another upset.
In the 11th minute Bridge, skipper for the night in the absence
of substitute John Terry, sent a curling shot just wide of the
upright.
Owen Coyle's side, fifth in the Championship having lost just
four times this season, were coping well with Chelsea's attacking
ambitions.
In the 19th minute, Chelsea should have opened the scoring when
Drogba, making his first start for six weeks, put Salomon Kalou
clear.
But the Ivory Coast striker was thwarted by Jensen as Kalou
tried to take the ball around the Burnley goalkeeper.
At the opposite end, a mistake by Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini
almost gifted Burnley an opener but Paulo Ferreira was on hand to
clear the danger.
An injury to Juliano Belletti forced Chelsea to make an early
change and he was replaced by Frank Lampard in the 25th minute.
England midfielder Lampard made an instant impact as Chelsea
went in front in the 27th minute.
His precision pass to Drogba set the striker on a trademark run
into the Burnley penalty area.
Drogba left Michael Duff on the floor as he swept into the area
and curled the ball around the unprotected Jensen.
Lampard's introduction had clearly helped Chelsea to get on top
of their game, with the England midfielder now at the heart of all
their best moves.
In the 38th minute Jensen had to be at his best to keep out a
low, angled drive from Florent Malouda as Chelsea looked to end
Burnley's interest in the contest for good.
The second goal almost arrived in the 45th minute when Chelsea
defender Branislav Ivanovic headed a free-kick from Mineiro against
the crossbar.
In the 55th minute Ivanovic put another header over the bar
after Kalou and Malouda had combined to get the ball into the
penalty area.
Kalou was then thwarted by Jensen when Drogba put his Ivory
Coast team-mate through on goal.
Burnley, sensing that they were still in with a chance, replaced
Martin Paterson with Akinbiyi on the hour.
Drogba, the main threat to Burnley in the opening half started
to look an isolated figure as the Blues settled for containment
rather than a decisive second goal.
Chelsea's frustration was underlined by Scolari's next move,
which was to replace Drogba with Di Santo in the 68th minute.
But Chelsea were stunned in the 70th minute.
Chris Eagles burst on to a pass from Robbie Blake and when his
shot was saved by Cudicini, substitute Akinbiyi pounced to
equalise.
Di Santo missed two gilt-edged chances to restore Chelsea's lead
as the game finally petered out into extra-time.
But Chelsea's misery continued when an injury to Di Santo
reduced them to 10 men three minutes into the first period of added
time.
Both sides failed to carve out a clear chance in the opening
half but Akinbiyi brought a fine save from Cudicini with a deft
header in the 111th minute.
Six minutes from time Chelsea defender Alex scuffed a shot over
the bar from point-blank range as the game lurched towards penalty
showdown.
The numbers were even out moments later when Caldwell was sent
off for a second bookable offence after blocking Malouda.
But that was the last event of note before the game went to
penalties and Jensen became Burnley's hero.
[email protected], chelsea 1st team lost to Burnley!
