Hasselbaink’s perfect hat-trick

Down the years, clashes between Chelsea and Tottenham have produced memorable encounters. The clubs face each other tonight in the first leg of League Cup semi-final, which promises to be an enthralling game.

When the two clubs met at the same stage of the competition 17 years ago, Tottenham overturned a 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the first leg with a devastating 5-1 display at White Hart Lane.

By sheer coincidence, Chelsea got their revenge in the FA Cup quarter-final, winning 4-0 away. The meetings didn’t stop there: three days later in the league Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink scored a hat-trick to condemn Tottenham to another 4-0 defeat. Left foot, right foot, header: the perfect hat-trick!

Winning the League Cup: a poison chalice?

Manchester City and Arsenal will contest the English Football League Carabao Cup final on 25 February 2018.

The League Cup would represent Pep Guardiola’s first trophy in England, while for Arsène Wenger it may be his last chance to win the competition, having been a runner-up in 2007 and 2011.

Here’s an interesting observation: seven winning managers in the last 11 seasons of the competition had vacated their post by the end of the following season. Mourinho, a winner in 2007 and 2015 with Chelsea, was sacked twice in the same calendar year. In 2008, Juande Ramos at Tottenham didn’t get off to a great start in his first full season, leaving Harry “two points from eight games” Redknapp to sort out the mess. Manuel Pellegrini did survive in 2014, but left in 2016, while Alex McLeish at Birmingham City left his position to join arch-rivals Aston Villa in 2011.

Flashback: League Cup quarter-finals in 1988

Incident: League Cup Littlewoods Challenge Cup quarter-final ties

What happened: Seven First Division sides were still left in the competition. Bradford City, then of the Second Division were paired up against Luton Town, but a mistake by their goalkeeper Paul Tomlinson set Luton on their way to the semis. A day later, Arsenal were the beneficiaries of another goalie error as they beat Sheffield Wednesday by a single goal. Everton defeated Manchester City at Goodison Park, while Oxford caused the biggest upset of the round, knocking championship-chasing Manchester United out. Barry Davies provides commentary in the video below.