21.57 GMT
Full time: Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea
That's it! Middlesbrough will travel to Stamford Bridge in two weeks with a narrow lead. To call it hard-earned would be an understatement. They suffered the loss of two more players in the first half and defended heroically on either side of Hayden Hackney's 37th minute goal.
At times they took advantage of their luck – Cole Palmer missed two players – but they kept Chelsea's possession-to-chance ratio relatively low.
Chelsea will still be favorites in the second leg but Boro have a chance of getting to Wembley. That's all anyone has ever asked for.
Updated at 22.02 GMT
21.41 GMT
80 mins “I agree with you that a Chelsea goal looks like it's on target, but then again the Chelsea players don't look like they're playing with any urgency,” writes Kári Tulinius. “And I understand why. After the real danger of FA Cup games, this one-on-one affair seems risk-free. Unless Boro score another goal or two, it's hard to imagine Chelsea turning things around at Stamford Bridge, even if they don't score tonight.”
Human nature is the strangest thing.
Updated at 21.41 GMT
21.40 GMT
78 mins If it stays that way, Chelsea will still expect to progress, even if the result will irritate them given the dominance they displayed for most of the game. Boro needed some luck; They also defended admirably.
Updated at 21.40 GMT
21.31 GMT
69 mins Gusto is on the ground after being caught in a sweeping tackle by Crooks, not unlike Disasi's attack on Latte Lath earlier in the game. No foul was called, but he is being dealt with.
Updated at 21:31 GMT
21.29 GMT
68 mins “Millings is right,” says Matt Dony. “There are some great names on display tonight. But the high mark was set (as so often) by Swansea. Not long ago they had the great nickname Angel Rangel AND Jazz Richards. Both in the same position. A battle for the right back has never sounded so pleasant.”
What about Gary and Phil Neville circa 1996?
Gazza and Fizzer, in happier times Photo: John Peters/Manchester United/Getty Images
Updated at 21.36 GMT
21.23 GMT
60 mins “Wotcha Bob,” says Mac Millings, who, as always, lives a carefree life. “Is it just me or are we living in a golden age of footballer names? These two depleted rosters alone have at least two handfuls of names that just come to mind. From the crisp assonant and alliterative simplicity of Hayden Hackney, Jamie Jones, Calum Kavanagh and Dylan Williams to the mellifluous nicknames of Emmanuel Latte Lath and Bryant Akono Bilongo, there is so much to enjoy.
“Mykhailo Mudryk sounds and looks (with his two perfectly positioned 'y's) like a vampire's name.” Daniel Barlaser sounds like something Han Solo would have used to shoot Greedo, and Malo Gusto sounds like Spanish (at least to this ignoramus). Word for “bad taste”. And Djordje Petrovic, Axel Disasi and Eugenio Deivid Washington are just incredibly cool footballer names, for no reason I can give – they just are.
“So if you hate VAR and proposed Super Leagues, just read out the team summary and fall in love with football again.”
Mac Millings raves about alliterative simplicity. This was not understood before the internet. And to think that some people long for those days.
Updated at 21.23 GMT
21.19 GMT
57 mins “Not on the subject of player managers, but something that has been bugging me since I saw it on Twitter and I need to get it out there: There are people out there who think Pep is a mediocre player,” says Phil Podolsky. “Putting the trophies aside for a moment, those of us old enough to see him play know that he was an isolated incident, a phenomenon.”
There are people on Twitter who think Roy Keane was a mediocre passer and The Sopranos isn't funny. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. (Yes, I know, that's rich of me.)
Second-rate clogger Pep Guardiola beats Lee Sharpe in the 1994 Champions League. Photo: Colorsport/REX Shutterstock/REX_Shutterstock
Updated at 21.30 GMT