Goalless at half-time at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Liverpool went into the break goalless in their Carling Cup quarter-final at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje was forced to save from Frank Lampard when the England midfielder raced through midway through the first half.

Lucas had Liverpool’s best opportunity but Petr Cech was down sharply to save.

Lampard almost seized on an error from Hobbs in the 24th minute only for Itandje to pull off another save. Hobbs lost possession to Kalou and Alvaro Arbeloa’s clearance fell perfectly for Lampard – but the midfielder’s chip was blocked by Liverpool’s reserve goalkeeper.

At the other end, Petr Cech was enjoying a quiet start to his first Carling Cup appearance of the season – until Crouch played Lucas through, and the Chelsea goalkeeper was forced into a low save.

Atkinson then booked Alonso and turned down a penalty appeal from Crouch. Lucas also picked up a yellow card for a foul on Mikel John Obi.