0-1! Mr. 100 million yuan is collectively dumb, Manchester City's old player has an alternative hat-trick, and Chelsea is ashamed

Despite spending more than €300 million in last summer's transfer window, Chelsea are still stumbling, with no hope of winning the Premier League title and no European qualification, and avoiding the embarrassment of a big four, they will need to work hard in the cup competition. In midweek, the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final kicks off with Chelsea away to Championship powerhouse Middlesbrough. Chelsea tried to take control of the game after the game began, but Manchester City veteran Palmer scored a hat-trick of missed chances, and the three billionaires Enzo, Mudryk and Caicedo were collectively dumbfounded, and Hackney sealed the throat with a sword, and Chelsea fell to the ground 1-0.

Despite the limited quality of the opponents, Pochettino still set up a 4-3-3 formation for the away game, with Raheem Sterling and Palmer on either side, Madueke as a cameo as a central striker, and Enzo and Caicedo as the two gentlemen of the game to form a barrier in midfield with Conor Gallagher. The defensive quartet consisted of Colwill, Thiago Silva, Disasi and Gusto, with Petrovic continuing to guard the final pass.

As the referee's whistle blew, Middlesbrough, who were playing at home, almost scored. Just one minute into the opening period, Colwill made a mistake in clearing the ball with a header, and Rattle broke the ball straight into the penalty area, and the half-time one-handed volley was slightly wide of the far corner under the interference of Disassi. In the 8th minute, Bangura crossed from the left side, and Enzo handball in the penalty area, but the referee showed mercy and did not award a penalty.

In the 32nd minute, Chelsea had a golden chance when Palmer cut off a backball from an opposition defender, but a volley from the goalkeeper was deflected wide.

As the saying goes, if you miss a chance, you will be punished, and this is one of the iron rules of football. In the 37th minute, Middlesbrough played a quick counter-attack, Isaiah Jones singled out Colwill, and the low ball was sent to goal, and Hackney followed up to push it into the net to put Chelsea 1-0 down.

In stoppage time of the half, Raheem Sterling crossed from the left, Enzo's shot was not much of a threat, Glover made a mistake to save and gave a gift, Palmer followed, and Bal flew away again in front of the goal!

Immediately afterwards, Disassi's through pass was instigated, Sterling followed the through ball, Palmer shook the angle and pushed the far corner, which was confiscated by Glover. In just 15 minutes, Palmer scored a hat-trick as Chelsea returned to the dressing room 1-0 down. In fact, after joining from Manchester City last summer, Palmer has performed very well, contributing eight goals and four assists in 16 games, and is joint Chelsea's top scorer, but this game is really not flattering.

After returning to the pitch, Chelsea stepped up their attack. In the 53rd minute, Raheem Sterling crossed from the left, Enzo took advantage of the situation, the power and landing point were just right, but Madueke's header was too right. In the 61st minute, Gusto's 45-degree cross from the right side, Gallagher stopped the ball in the penalty area and turned and volleyed, but it missed the post. Pochettino couldn't take it anymore and made a series of substitutions, with Enzo and Madueke coming off and Armando Broja and Mykhailo Mudryk coming on in quick succession.

In the 73rd minute, Gusto crossed from the right, Mudryk answered in the middle, shook off the angle and shot with his feet, which was again confiscated by the Middlesbrough goalkeeper. In the 81st minute, Armando Broja broke through from the left side of the penalty area and crossed, and Sterling was half a beat slow to outflank at the back post.

Throughout the game, Chelsea managed 70 per cent possession and created 17 shots on goal with five on target. On the other hand, Middlesbrough, with only 30% possession, scored 1 goal with 2 shots on target from 6 shots, which is undoubtedly more efficient.

Considering that Chelsea's entire squad is worth close to 1 billion, while Middlesbrough only has 67 million, considering that the opponent is still a Championship team, this defeat is undoubtedly a great shame for the Blues. It is worth mentioning that Chelsea's nine-game winning streak against Middlesbrough was ended, with the last defeat coming 18 years ago. Thankfully, with two legs in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, Chelsea were not immediately eliminated.