In the second minute of stoppage time, Mudryk levelled Callum Wilson’s opener to send the tie to penalties. We were already in the ascendency, courtesy of Kieran Trippier’s miss, when Petrovic outstandingly denied Matt Ritchie, backing up our quartet of flawless spot-kicks to send the Blues through.

It was a deserved outcome after a game we had dominated despite going behind when Wilson capitalised on a couple of errors in our backline to put Newcastle ahead on 16 minutes. Conor Gallagher had already struck the crossbar by then, and Raheem Sterling twice nearly levelled as we pinned Newcastle back before the break.

That pattern continued in the second period. Nicolas Jackson shot wide and Sterling drew a super stop from Martin Dubravka.

Christopher Nkunku came on for his debut, but it was another sub who took the tie to penalties in stoppage time. Mudryk was coolness personified as he pounced on a Kieran Trippier mistake to finish with aplomb.

It was the Ukrainian who converted our fourth spot-kick meaning Ritchie had to score, but on his third Chelsea appearance Petrovic had other ideas.

We will find out our semi-final opponents after the Liverpool vs West Ham tie tomorrow evening. Middlesbrough and Fulham also progressed tonight.

Almost the perfect start

The Blues began brightly and six minutes had been played when Gallagher came very close to opening his account for the season. The skipper used his instep to curl a bouncing ball goalwards, the effort from the edge of the box thudding against the crossbar and rebounding to safety.

Chelsea’s start had been a good one, which made the manner of the opening goal all the more frustrating. Levi Colwill misplaced a pass and Callum Wilson bustled his way past Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile to score, the Frenchman getting his feet in a tangle as he tried to shepherd the ball to safety.

Fighting hard to level

Twice before the half-hour Sterling nearly equalised. First he slid a shot just wide after a neat one-two with Moises Caicedo, and then saw a goalbound shot from a better position blocked by Bruno Guimaraes' upper body.

Enzo, who had been Mauricio Pochettino’s only change from the Sheffield United win, had to be withdrawn on 32 minutes. Armando Broja was his replacement and had the ball in the net soon after, but from an offside position. Nicolas Jackson moved to the left flank, Sterling switched sides, and Cole Palmer shifted infield to the role hitherto occupied by Enzo.

We continued to look the more threatening side before the break. After it, Malo Gusto replaced Colwill at left-back.

Nkunku enters the fray

Gusto quickly made his mark, finding Broja who moved it on to Jackson. He shot just wide on the turn. Sterling then forced Martin Dubravka into a fine low save as the noise levels inside the Bridge ramped up.

The volume increased further when Nkunku was brought on for his Chelsea debut with 20 minutes remaining.

Three of those were left when Tino Livramento very nearly headed a Mudryk cross past his own goalkeeper. Gallagher was inches away from sliding it in at the far post.

Livramento and Gallagher were in the thick of things again as we entered added time, the latter’s shouts for a penalty waved away after a coming together in the box. But there was still time!

Misha to the rescue

Gusto, now at right-back, swung in an inviting cross that Trippier tried to cushion back to Dubravka. He didn’t get enough on it, though, and there was Mudryk to calmly finish into the bottom corner. The Matthew Harding erupted!

Trippier's night was to get worse, evoking a previous bad League Cup experience here nearly five years ago now, when he was at Tottenham.

This season, with no extra-time until the semis, to penalties we went.

Penalties

Chelsea went first in front of the Newcastle fans in the Shed End.

Chelsea 1-0 – Palmer scored low to Dubravka’s right.

1-1 – Wilson scored high down the middle.

2-1 – Gallagher scored brilliantly top left-hand corner.

2-1 – Trippier's misery compounded as he fired wide of Petrovic’s right-hand post

3-1 – Nkunku calmly picked out the top left-hand corner

3-2 – Guimaraes scored low to the right

4-2 – Mudryk calmly sent Dubravka the wrong way, Drogba in Munich-esque

4-2 – Petrovic saved brilliantly from Ritchie, high to his left. Victory was ours!

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Disasi (Maatsen 78), Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Colwill (Gusto h/t); Caicedo, Gallagher (c); Palmer, Enzo (Broja 32), Sterling (Mudryk 78); Jackson (Nkunku 69)
Unused subs Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Gilchrist, Matos
Scorer Mudryk 90+2
Booked Caicedo 2, Sterling 71, Gallagher 90+4

Newcastle (4-3-3): Dubravka; Krafth (Trippier h/t), Lascelles (c), Botman (Burn h/t), Livramento; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Wilson, Gordon (Ritchie 52)
Unused subs Karius, Gillespie, Dummett, Hall, Murphy
Scorer Wilson 16
Booked Wilson 87, Guimaraes 90+5

Penalties: Palmer scored (1-0 Chelsea); Wilson scored (1-1); Gallagher scored (2-1); Trippier missed (2-1); Nkunku scored (3-1); Guimaraes scored (3-2); Mudryk scored (4-2); Ritchie saved (4-2)

Referee Jarred Gillett
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