Chelsea’s frictionless Jorginho-Kovacic axis puts Tuchel in total control | Barney Ronay

Blues’ high-spec finely engineered – and very expensive – midfielders epitomised the gulf between Chelsea and Spurs

There was a moment midway through the first half of this Carabao Cup semi-final second leg, with Chelsea already 1-0 up, when Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic just seemed to stop, shrug, and pass the ball three times between them: a kind of shared footballing shrug, a raise of the midfield eyebrows. We can do this all day you know. You’re on your own time here.

This was a game Tottenham did their best to chase, and with some urgency in the second half. But they were up against opponents who seemed always to be holding them at arm’s length, a palm flat against their forehead, arms windmilling in the space between.