Chelsea’s record-signing, 28, cost the Blues a cool £97.5m at the start of the season but the Belgian has flattered to deceive on his return
Browsing: Timo Werner
The 22-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, put Arsenal in front early on before Timo Werner’s deflected strike quickly got the Blues level again.
Boro overcame Manchester United and Tottenham to reach the last eight, but Thomas Tuchel’s Premier League side did not have such difficulties at the Riverside Stadium.
Despite not having the likes of Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku at his disposal, head coach Thomas Tuchel found the right solutions as the leaders extended their lead at the top of the table.
Jorginho converted two penalties, while Andreas Christensen and Kai Havertz laid on classy finishes – but Chelsea’s new injuries still grabbed the greatest attention.
The fifth victory in five matches under new coach Hansi Flick, matching the record of predecessor Joachim Loew, has given Germany an unassailable lead at the top of Group J.
Trevor Chalobah opened the scoring for the Blues, who then had two further goals disallowed before James Ward-Prowse’s penalty put Saints on terms but the midfielder was subsequently shown red card and the home side made their man advantage pay.
The 20-year-old striker is expected to be chased by several of Europe’s elite this summer, with Sportsmail revealing in March that the Blues are one of three European sides interested in the forward, along with Manchester City and Real Madrid.
The match will air live and in HD on StarTimes’ World Football channel, which is on its basic bouquet at N160 per day (antenna users) or smart bouquet at N200 (dish users).
The Blues will now face Man City at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on May 29
The Blues head into this tie following a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League, while Scott Parker’s side were denied all three points against Arsenal in heartbreaking fashion.
Chelsea will still occupy the box seat for the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, May 5, with Thomas Tuchel’s men producing another hugely impressive performance
The Blues recorded a 4-0 win over Morecambe in the third round to progress to this stage, while Luton beat Reading 1-0 courtesy of a first-half effort from George Moncur.
Chelsea spent heavily in the close season to bring in the likes of midfielder Kai Havertz, forward Timo Werner, defender Ben Chilwell and winger Hakim Ziyech, but the London club sits ninth in the Premier League with 26 points from 17 games.
The keeper clumsily bundled Dominic Calvert-Lewin over in the box and Gylfi Sigurdsson tucked away the resulting penalty
Four days after featuring in Germany’s humiliating 6-0 Nations League defeat to Spain, the £48m man shone against Steve Bruce’s Premier League strugglers as Chelsea made it five straight wins in all competitions.
It was all due to two first half penalty kicks hammered home by striker Timo Werner and a tap-in by Tammy Abraham.
Defender Vestergaard rifled home in second-half stoppage time as Saints punished Chelsea’s lax defending, with the recalled Kepa Arrizabalaga enduring another day to forget.
The Swiss took an early lead through Mario Gavranovic and Remo Freuler added a second before goals from Timo Werner and Kai Havertz levelled the scores.
New signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz made their debuts up front after the German internationals joined Frank Lampard’s side from the Bundesliga during the close season as Chelsea prevailed thanks to goals from somewhat unlikely sources.