Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea: Wasteful Blues suffer familiar disappointment in EFL Cup semifinal

Chelsea suffered a narrow loss away at Middlesbrough in the first leg of their EFL Cup semifinal clash. 

The encounter on Teeside was decided by a first-half goal scored by youngster Hackney, finishing off a devastating counter-attacking move to open the scoring.

Chelsea knocked on the door repeatedly and should have scored in the first half but top scorer Cole Palmer uncharacteristically spurned clear-cut goalscoring opportunities.

Pochettino's men could not find the same tempo in the second half as they struggled to break down Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough and their resolute deep block.