England captain John Terry was taken to a Cardiff hospital after he was accidentally kicked in the head by an Arsenal player, knocked unconscious and swallowed his tongue in this action-packed Carling Cup Final, the first-ever final of this competition between two London teams. We will have to see if he is fit to play in the Euro 2008 qualifying games against Israel and Andorra.
Because of the Terry injury, 7 minutes of injury-time were added on at the end of the game, a period which witnessed a mass brawl between both sets of players which left the referee showing three red cards and two yellows.
Chelsea triumph in Carling Cup
25th February 2007
Drogba: two-goal hero for Chelsea
Flashpoint: Three players were sent off and two more booked following an unsavoury brawl during the seven minutes of injury time at the end of the game
The Carling Cup Final 2007 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Walcott 12.................Drogba 20, 84
Drogba, who scored both of Chelsea's goals, with the Carling Cup.
Three players were sent off as Chelsea came from behind to win the Carling Cup for the second time in three years - but skipper John Terry was not around to lift the trophy after being taken to hospital following a sickening kick in the head.
In front of watching England boss Steve McClaren, Terry was knocked out cold as he took the full force of Abou Diaby's boot in the face as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the Arsenal box just before the hour mark.
An accidental kick in the head by Arsenal's Abu Diaby left Chelsea star John Terry unconscious and had to be hospitalised after swallowing his tongue. Diaby was in tears.
Terry swallowed his tongue during the drama, which left Abou in tears, before he was eventually carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask helping his breathing.
Although he was revived before leaving the Millennium Stadium, Terry will now undergo extensive tests before being allowed to play again.
The injury overshadowed an amazing game, in which Didier Drogba plundered his 27th and 28th goals of the season after Theo Walcott had put Arsenal ahead, but ended in the sourest manner imaginable with a mass brawl which Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger tried to break up.
Mikel Jon Obi and Kolo Toure reacted to their punishment by simply removing their shirts.
Emmanuel Adebayor was less gracious and had to be hauled off as he continued to vent his fury at referee Howard Webb.
With Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas also booked, the Football Association are sure to launch an investigation at some point in the next 48 hours.
Certainly, there was no shortage of incident for sponsors Carling to bother about. And any suggestion Wenger devalued their competition by fielding his youngsters can be rejected too.
In fact, to see Arsenal's kids buzzing around the Millennium Stadium with no sign of big-match nerves was a total joy.
In Abou Diaby and Fabregas, the Gunners boast a pair of fresh-faced midfielders capable of carrying them to glory for the next decade and their speed and movement was initially too much for a Chelsea outfit, whose experience was about the only thing that kept them in the game.
The other major gripe at Wenger is his failure to develop Englishmen.
Having lured Walcott from Southampton for £12million, no-one could argue the Arsenal academy was actually responsible for bringing through the 17-year-old.
But, when he told Sven Goran Eriksson to take a gamble on the teenager at last summer's World Cup, Wenger clearly knew what he was talking about. Eriksson's refusal to call on Walcott as England slithered out of Germany has left a stain on the player's career that will be difficult to remove.
But the task has begun now after he chose the perfect setting to score his first Arsenal goal.
He did all the hard work himself too, shuttling back to pick up the loose ball after Chelsea had half-cleared a corner. Walcott then continued his run after laying off a pass to Diaby, collected the return and skipped past an otherwise immaculate Ricardo Carvalho before delivering a precise finish.
Rarely since Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge have Chelsea been subjected to such torture. But what they lack in flair, the Blues make up for in efficiency.
Drogba should have been flagged offside when he collected Michael Ballack's astute chipped pass.
But once he had gained the benefit of the decision, the striker never looked likely to fail and assuredly smashed home his 28th goal of an incredible season.
Drogba's efforts should have given Chelsea the platform to assert their authority. Instead, the plucky Arsenal lads refused to buckle and contributed fully to a sustained period of committed cut and thrust, which can to an abrupt end with Terry's sickening injury.
For five minutes, the Chelsea medical staff attended to their captain, whose bravery was exemplified by his willingness to play in Cardiff despite suffering a serious ankle injury in Porto on Wednesday.
Arsenal and England physio Gary Lewin was also on the scene.
Understandably, the game lost its spark for a while afterwards. It took Frank Lampard's thunderous 25-yard strike to bring it back to life, the England midfielder shaking the crossbar with Manuel Almunia beaten.
With young legs starting to tire, from then on it seemed just a matter of when, not if, Chelsea would get their winner.
And, when Arjen Robben drifted over a cross from the left, there was little surprise either that Drogba should be the man who muscled his way in front of Philippe Senderos and glanced the decisive header into the bottom corner.
Arsenal had seven minutes' worth of injury time to try to fashion an equaliser.
Instead, all a capacity crowd got was a ugly 14-man brawl, which brought both managers onto the pitch and left referee Howard Webb in an unenviable position, which he eventually resolved by brandishing three red cards.
Three players were sent off as Chelsea came from behind to win the Carling Cup for the second time in three years...
...but captain John Terry was not around to lift the trophy after being taken to hospital following a kick in the head
Terry was knocked out cold as he took the full force of Abou Diaby's boot in the face as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the Arsenal box just before the hour mark.
Terry swallowed his tongue during the drama, which left Abou in tears, before he was eventually carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask helping his breathing
The injury overshadowed an entertaining game, in which Didier Drogba plundered his 27th and 28th goals of the season...
... after Theo Walcott had put Arsenal ahead
Walcott did all the hard work himself, shuttling back to pick up the loose ball after Chelsea had half-cleared a corner.
He then continued his run after laying off a pass to Diaby, collected the return and skipped past Ricardo Carvalho before delivering a precise finish
The game ended in the sourest manner though with a mass brawl which Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger tried to break up
Chelsea: Cech, Diarra, Terry, Carvalho, Bridge, Makelele, Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Robben, Kalou.
Arsenal: Almunia, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos, Traore, Walcott, Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby, Aliadiere, Julio Baptista.
Subs: Poom, Hleb, Djourou, Adebayor, Eboue.
Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire)
dailymail.co.uk
Because of the Terry injury, 7 minutes of injury-time were added on at the end of the game, a period which witnessed a mass brawl between both sets of players which left the referee showing three red cards and two yellows.
Chelsea triumph in Carling Cup
25th February 2007
Drogba: two-goal hero for Chelsea
Flashpoint: Three players were sent off and two more booked following an unsavoury brawl during the seven minutes of injury time at the end of the game
The Carling Cup Final 2007 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff)
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Walcott 12.................Drogba 20, 84
Drogba, who scored both of Chelsea's goals, with the Carling Cup.
Three players were sent off as Chelsea came from behind to win the Carling Cup for the second time in three years - but skipper John Terry was not around to lift the trophy after being taken to hospital following a sickening kick in the head.
In front of watching England boss Steve McClaren, Terry was knocked out cold as he took the full force of Abou Diaby's boot in the face as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the Arsenal box just before the hour mark.
An accidental kick in the head by Arsenal's Abu Diaby left Chelsea star John Terry unconscious and had to be hospitalised after swallowing his tongue. Diaby was in tears.
Terry swallowed his tongue during the drama, which left Abou in tears, before he was eventually carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask helping his breathing.
Although he was revived before leaving the Millennium Stadium, Terry will now undergo extensive tests before being allowed to play again.
The injury overshadowed an amazing game, in which Didier Drogba plundered his 27th and 28th goals of the season after Theo Walcott had put Arsenal ahead, but ended in the sourest manner imaginable with a mass brawl which Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger tried to break up.
Mikel Jon Obi and Kolo Toure reacted to their punishment by simply removing their shirts.
Emmanuel Adebayor was less gracious and had to be hauled off as he continued to vent his fury at referee Howard Webb.
With Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas also booked, the Football Association are sure to launch an investigation at some point in the next 48 hours.
Certainly, there was no shortage of incident for sponsors Carling to bother about. And any suggestion Wenger devalued their competition by fielding his youngsters can be rejected too.
In fact, to see Arsenal's kids buzzing around the Millennium Stadium with no sign of big-match nerves was a total joy.
In Abou Diaby and Fabregas, the Gunners boast a pair of fresh-faced midfielders capable of carrying them to glory for the next decade and their speed and movement was initially too much for a Chelsea outfit, whose experience was about the only thing that kept them in the game.
The other major gripe at Wenger is his failure to develop Englishmen.
Having lured Walcott from Southampton for £12million, no-one could argue the Arsenal academy was actually responsible for bringing through the 17-year-old.
But, when he told Sven Goran Eriksson to take a gamble on the teenager at last summer's World Cup, Wenger clearly knew what he was talking about. Eriksson's refusal to call on Walcott as England slithered out of Germany has left a stain on the player's career that will be difficult to remove.
But the task has begun now after he chose the perfect setting to score his first Arsenal goal.
He did all the hard work himself too, shuttling back to pick up the loose ball after Chelsea had half-cleared a corner. Walcott then continued his run after laying off a pass to Diaby, collected the return and skipped past an otherwise immaculate Ricardo Carvalho before delivering a precise finish.
Rarely since Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge have Chelsea been subjected to such torture. But what they lack in flair, the Blues make up for in efficiency.
Drogba should have been flagged offside when he collected Michael Ballack's astute chipped pass.
But once he had gained the benefit of the decision, the striker never looked likely to fail and assuredly smashed home his 28th goal of an incredible season.
Drogba's efforts should have given Chelsea the platform to assert their authority. Instead, the plucky Arsenal lads refused to buckle and contributed fully to a sustained period of committed cut and thrust, which can to an abrupt end with Terry's sickening injury.
For five minutes, the Chelsea medical staff attended to their captain, whose bravery was exemplified by his willingness to play in Cardiff despite suffering a serious ankle injury in Porto on Wednesday.
Arsenal and England physio Gary Lewin was also on the scene.
Understandably, the game lost its spark for a while afterwards. It took Frank Lampard's thunderous 25-yard strike to bring it back to life, the England midfielder shaking the crossbar with Manuel Almunia beaten.
With young legs starting to tire, from then on it seemed just a matter of when, not if, Chelsea would get their winner.
And, when Arjen Robben drifted over a cross from the left, there was little surprise either that Drogba should be the man who muscled his way in front of Philippe Senderos and glanced the decisive header into the bottom corner.
Arsenal had seven minutes' worth of injury time to try to fashion an equaliser.
Instead, all a capacity crowd got was a ugly 14-man brawl, which brought both managers onto the pitch and left referee Howard Webb in an unenviable position, which he eventually resolved by brandishing three red cards.
Three players were sent off as Chelsea came from behind to win the Carling Cup for the second time in three years...
...but captain John Terry was not around to lift the trophy after being taken to hospital following a kick in the head
Terry was knocked out cold as he took the full force of Abou Diaby's boot in the face as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the Arsenal box just before the hour mark.
Terry swallowed his tongue during the drama, which left Abou in tears, before he was eventually carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask helping his breathing
The injury overshadowed an entertaining game, in which Didier Drogba plundered his 27th and 28th goals of the season...
... after Theo Walcott had put Arsenal ahead
Walcott did all the hard work himself, shuttling back to pick up the loose ball after Chelsea had half-cleared a corner.
He then continued his run after laying off a pass to Diaby, collected the return and skipped past Ricardo Carvalho before delivering a precise finish
The game ended in the sourest manner though with a mass brawl which Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger tried to break up
Chelsea: Cech, Diarra, Terry, Carvalho, Bridge, Makelele, Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Shevchenko, Drogba.
Subs: Hilario, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Robben, Kalou.
Arsenal: Almunia, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos, Traore, Walcott, Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby, Aliadiere, Julio Baptista.
Subs: Poom, Hleb, Djourou, Adebayor, Eboue.
Referee: H Webb (S Yorkshire)
dailymail.co.uk
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