everton 2-1 aet

Sturridge is late hero for Chelsea

Everton 1 Chelsea 2 (aet)
Tim Rich

It was not quite Jose Mourinho's dash down the Old Trafford touchline but Andre Villas-Boas's celebrations at the final whistle were expansive. He punched the air, a few feet from where his counterpart David Moyes was standing, and then dashed on to the Goodison turf. You never imagined a place in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup meant so much at Stamford Bridge.
It was a hard-fought night and not much of an evening for goalkeepers or penalty-takers. Chelsea's Ross Turnbull was dismissed while Everton's Jan Mucha was responsible for the kind of error that made you realise why Fabien Barthez would reach for a pack of Gitanes while playing for France or Manchester United.
Both sides squandered a penalty and when Royston Drenthe was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Ryan Bertrand in extra time, it turned the tie.
Until then Moyes had thought the very worst Everton might take from the night was a penalty shoot-out but Chelsea, reinvigorated, snatched their advantage. Nicolas Anelka struck the post and when Mucha parried Florent Malouda's shot, Daniel Sturridge drove it home.
Turnbull was playing in a jersey whose colour was officially given as "slime". The colour the Teessider would remember from this night is red. Louis Saha had worked Turnbull hard in the first half and early in the second, he wriggled through Chelsea's defensive screen and was brought down by the man in slime. It was a nakedly obvious penalty and Chelsea's third red card in four days. In contrast to Sunday's debacle at Queen's Park Rangers, Villas-Boas smiled that "this time" he had no complaints about the refereeing.
Most would argue that the forced introduction of Petr Cech strengthened Chelsea and although Leighton Baines – in contrast to Anelka's vacuous effort in the first half – struck his spot-kick hard, Cech saved it. He also blocked Baines's second attempt from the rebound but he could do little about Saha's low stooping header six minutes from the scheduled end, which sent the contest into extra time. Had Drenthe aimed a vicious free-kick fractionally lower, that would not have been required.
John Terry and nine others were absent from the Chelsea side that began Sunday's disastrous and ultimately poisonous game at Loftus Road. Terry was spared the journey to Merseyside, not because he was attempting to avoid the fall-out from the alleged racist abuse directed at Anton Ferdinand but, more prosaically, because he is one booking away from suspension and Chelsea face Arsenal on Saturday.
Aside from their goalkeeper, Everton were pretty much at full strength, although given what happened seven minutes from the interval, Moyes might have wished he had not given Tim Howard the night off. The shot from Malouda was a relatively harmless-looking chip which Mucha got both gloves to. Somehow, the ball squirmed through his hands and into the net. Goodison was tense with the sound of suppressed laughter and desperate embarrassment for the Slovak, whose last run in the Carling Cup had ended with defeat at Brentford.

Everton (4-4-1-1): Mucha; Neville (Hibbert, 46), Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Drenthe, Rodwell (Stracqualursi, 78), Fellaini, Bilyaletdinov (Coleman, 81); Cahill; Saha. Substitutes not used Hahnemann (gk), Barkley, Osman, Vellios.

Chelsea (4-3-1-2): Turnbull; Ivanovic, Alex, Luiz, Betrand; Romeu McEachran (Mikel, 64), Kalou (Sturridge, 85); Malouda; Anelka, Lukaku (Cech, 60).Substitutes not used Lampard, Torres, Mata, Ferreira.
Referee L Mason (Northamptonshire).
Carling Cup last eight
Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Cardiff City, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United.
Draw to be made on Saturday; Ties to take place 29/30 November

========================

Guardian:


Ross Turnbull sent off before Chelsea overcome Everton in extra time
• Everton 1-2 Chelsea (after extra time)• Saha 84; Kalou 38, Sturridge 116

Andy Hunter at Goodison Park

The garish camouflage kit worn by Everton's goalkeepers does not disguise their embarrassment. Jan Mucha, their Slovakian stand-in, was at fault for both Chelsea goals as André Villas-Boas's team survived a third red card in two matches to advance into the quarter-finals. The Chelsea manager reacted in a Mourinho-esque manner to the final whistle, leaping into the air and leading his players on a shirt-throwing, chest-thumping celebration before the away hordes. Here the Carling Cup became a test of inner resources.
Ross Turnbull was dismissed from the Chelsea goal for a 58th minute-foul on Louis Saha, enabling Petr Cech to enter from the bench and save the resulting spot-kick from Leighton Baines. The penalty misses and red cards were ultimately shared, Nicolas Anelka also failing for the visitors and Royston Drenthe collecting a late red card that prompted Chelsea to seize control of extra time.
Everton had the chances to have won against 10 men in normal time but there was no denying Chelsea's superiority on a level playing field. When Mucha could only parry Florent Malouda's shot straight to Daniel Sturridge, having earlier handed Chelsea the lead with an amateurish mistake, the substitute finished expertly and a draining victory was secured.
"We were very committed, we showed strength of character and resolve once again," said Villas-Boas who, unlike at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, had no complaints over the red card. "Having 10 men unfortunately made it difficult for us again but to survive in difficult circumstances is an extremely good sign for us. It shows the squad is committed to all the trophies. It was important to win after a defeat that happens like it did at Queens Park Rangers. To do it in this fashion is more gratifying. The emotional victory you get from a result like this is immense."
There was no place in the Chelsea squad for John Terry and no questions allowed about the England captain either as a consequence of the Football Association's investigation into allegations of racist abuse against Anton Ferdinand, which he denies. Villas-Boas made 10 changes in all but there was minimal disruption to the visitors' play and they should have established an early lead from the spot.
John Heitinga, recalled to the heart of the home defence but rusty on his first start in five matches, ploughed through Josh McEachran as the young Chelsea midfielder gathered the rebound from his own shot against Sylvain Distin. Heitinga still had the nerve to plead innocence but was spared when Anelka ambled forward, sent Mucha the wrong way but paid for his casual approach as the ball drifted well wide.
Moments later Anelka was bundled off the ball inside the area by Distin only for the referee Lee Mason to wave away appeals for a second spot-kick. Just as Everton began to settle, however, with Drenthe increasingly influential, they threw it away – literally. There appeared little danger when Salomon Kalou floated a first-time chip towards the Everton goal from the edge of the area. The Slovakia international Mucha, given a rare outing in place of the rested Tim Howard, came to collect with both hands but made a complete hash of the catch and let it slip through his grasp and over the line. Moyes turned towards his own bench open-mouthed. Even Kalou had the decency to look embarrassed.
"I don't think it had an effect on the players after that," said Everton's manager, David Moyes. "The boys played really well, especially in the second half and we were unlucky not to win in 90 minutes but we've only got ourselves to blame for not winning it."
The introduction of Seamus Coleman gave Everton much-needed speed and width and with seven minutes remaining he delivered an inviting cross on to the head of Saha, whose glancing finish broke Cech's impressive resistance. Saha almost struck again in the final seconds of normal time but his low shot flashed narrowly wide. Chelsea, despite their disadvantage, also continued to press for a winner with Sturridge introduced and David Luiz testinge Mucha with a dipping free-kick.
Drenthe received the second red card of the game when he collected a second booking for a foul on Ryan Bertrand in extra time and a suspension that rules him out of Manchester United's visit to Goodison on Saturday. Anelka then struck a post following a fine run and cross from Bertrand and Mucha produced a fine save to deny Branislav Ivanovic from distance. His next stop merely proved the assist for Chelsea's winner.


===========================

Telegraph:

Everton 1 Chelsea 2; aet:
By Chris Bascombe at Goodison Park

Substitute Daniel Sturridge ensured Chelseamanager Andre Villas-Boas can look forward to visiting Wembley for all the right reasons. The Portuguese coach may find he is already pencilled in for a trip for disciplinary purposes, but after brushing off the latest red card controversy he now finds himself on course to follow the path of his former mentor, Jose Mourinho.
If the Carling Cup is not top of Villas-Boas’ wanted list, it should be after he savoured victory here. As the first trophy he can win it would settle nerves and signal an arrival in English football — the platform, just as it was for Jose, to more delectable riches later this season. Besides, if Chelsea do not win it is most likely one of their top four rivals will.
Any lingering sense of injustice from last weekend’s defeat to QPR, coupled with what could have been a pivotal dismissal of goalkeeper Ross Turnbull here, was plainly not evident. Turnbull, deputising for Petr Cech, was dismissed on 58 minutes for a professional foul on Louis Saha.
It temporarily shifted the balance of power, granting Everton an opportunity they squandered after equalising by stupidly restoring the numerical balance in extra-time when Royston Drenthe collected a second booking.
“I have no complaints about the sending off,” said Villas-Boas, granting himself a smile which was not evident when Louis Saha headed the game into extra time seven minutes from the end.
“We showed our strength, our character and our resilience. This is a good sign for us and we showed we are committed to winning the trophy.”
Prior to the dismissal of Turnbull it was a strangely dispassionate Goodison Park. Chelsea, without John Terry (left at home to organise a defence of a somewhat different sort) and with Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata kept on the bench, were still strolling to a comfortable win.
This was not a good night to be a deputy keeper. Turnbull was consoled not only by the ultimate victory but by substitute Cech saving the penalty which followed his indiscretion.
For Jan Mucha, in for the rested Tim Howard, the inexplicable error that gifted Chelsea the lead on 38 minutes will not so easily be forgotten. In cricketing terms, it was a dolly. He did not just have time to catch the looping ball, he could have juggled it a few times before clutching it. Instead, it bobbled out of his palms and over his head leaving Salomon Kalou to sheepishly accept his congratulation. The dubious goals committee may determine the unwanted credit lies solely with the Slovakian keeper.
Regardless of the strange circumstances, it was the least Chelsea had deserved. Nicolas Anelka had casually missed a penalty on 16 minutes as the scene was set for a series of bewildering errors from both sides.
A few Saha efforts aside, David Moyes’ side were looking deficient in every department until they faced 10 men, while Chelsea rookies Romelu Lukaku and Josh McEachran offered a tantalising promise of an enterprising future at Stamford Bridge.
Belgian Lukaku has already been compared to Didier Drogba and on this evidence the comparison is not generous. His power and surging runs gave the Everton defence a consistently unkempt look. One of the unfortunate sub-plots of the Turnbull dismissal was the early exit of the young duo.
Everton’s hopes were restored when substitute Seamus Coleman’s perfect cross found Saha to revive the host’s hopes seven minutes from the end. They should have made their advantage count, but Drenthe’s daft lunge on Ryan Bertrand deep into extra time preceded a late Chelsea rally.
Anelka hit the post before substitute Sturridge struck, pouncing on a loose ball in the 116th minute, after Florent Malouda’s shot was pushed clear by Mucha.
“I didn’t think we deserved to lose it – in fact we should have won it in the 90 minutes. We have only got ourselves to blame,” said Moyes.
“At 11 versus 10 we were pretty much in control and looked on for at least a penalty shoot out, but at 10 v 10 we had to work hard to stop them. Our sending off probably turned it.”
Considering the Carling Cup supposedly ranks somewhere just above a pre-season friendly on the top four’s priority list, there is now a predictable familiarity about the last eight line-up.
As Chelsea joined Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City in the later stages, it was as much a statement of their overpowering strength in depth as it was their determination to lift the trophy.
Dull for the neutrals craving some romance, perhaps, but no doubt thrilling to the sponsors who are eyeing a showpiece final.


===========================

Mail:

Everton 1 Chelsea 2 (aet): Dan the man as extra-time winner sends Blues throughBy IAN LADYMAN

At the end Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas ran on to the field punching the air with both fists.
Then there was a hug for Nicolas Anelka.
Had anyone told him that this was only the Carling Cup?
To Villas-Boas's credit, he is clearly a man who values trophies.
Any trophy.
Jose Mourinho's first success in England was in this competition and maybe his former assistant remembers that.
Whatever the case for his post-match excitement, his relief was understandable.
This was a night of high drama; a night of missed penalties, red cards, heroics and blunders. It was just as well we didn't end up with a shootout. It probably would have gone on into the early hours.
'I was happy because we were able to triumph in difficult circumstances,' said Villas-Boas.
'That shows how committed this squad is to trophies. The emotional benefit we get from a game like this is important.'
Ultimately the day was won by Daniel Sturridge.
There were just four minutes of extra time remaining when the Chelsea substitute scored from 10 yards after Everton goalkeeper Jan Mucha parried a stinging shot from Florent Malouda into his path.
That, though, told nothing of the real story.
This was a game that either side could have won and at times looked as though they didn't really want to.
Largely, it was a match that revolved around three goalkeepers.
Everton's Slovakian Mucha was the first to take centre stage towards the end of a first half in which Everton played rather well.
Anelka had already missed a penalty - awarded after a quarter of an hour for a John Heitinga foul on Josh McEachran - when Mucha contributed one of the worst goalkeeping blunders this stadium has probably ever seen.
Certainly there seemed little danger when Chelsea's Salomon Kalou chipped a rather feeble cross towards the far post.
Mucha surely couldn't have dropped the ball if he had tried. But somehow he lost control of it and a second later it was dropping over his shoulder and into the net.
It was a calamity moment for Mucha and pretty disastrous for David Moyes and Everton too.
Nevertheless, they seemed to be handed a way back into the game 15 minutes after half-time when referee Lee Mason awarded his second penalty of the game.
This time Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull was the fall guy as he tripped Louis Saha in the area following a mistake by central defender David Luiz.
Mason had little choice but to send Turnbull off, and with Chelsea down to 10 men on came Petr Cech as a substitute.
There are those who say that Cech hasn't been the same since he suffered a head injury at Reading five years ago.
Here, though, he produced a remarkable cameo as he saved Leighton Baines's penalty with his first touch and then managed to spread himself to block the follow-up from the same player.
Two minutes later Cech excelled again, this time racing from goal to block a shot from the Russian Diniyar Bilyaletdinov at point-blank range.
Everton found some impetus late on and scored a superb equaliser with seven minutes left. Substitute Seamus Coleman got away down the right and when he delivered a cross to the near post Saha crashed a superb header down and into the corner.
In the moments that followed, Everton's best chances to win the game came and went.
Saha volleyed a foot or so wide and the Holland winger Royston Drenthe shot across goal.
Drenthe made his own mark on extra time when he was sent off for a second booking.
Both were stupid, one for dissent and another for a late challenge on Chelsea left back Ryan Bertrand.
'That turned it,' said Moyes. 'At 11 against 10, we were in control.'
In truth the 30 extra minutes were disappointing.
Anelka hit a post and then Sturridge scored.
Everton never threatened. Villas-Boas looked rather happy.

MATCH FACTS
Everton: Mucha, Neville (Hibbert 46), Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Bilyaletdinov (Coleman 81), Fellaini, Cahill, Rodwell (Stracqualursi 78), Drenthe, Saha.
Subs Not Used: Hahnemann, Barkley, Osman, Vellios.
Sent Off: Drenthe (107).
Booked: Fellaini,Drenthe.
Goals: Saha 83.
Chelsea: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Luiz, Alex, Bertrand, Malouda, Romeu, McEachran (Mikel 64), Anelka, Lukaku (Cech 60), Kalou (Sturridge 85).
Subs Not Used: Lampard, Torres, Mata, Ferreira.
Sent Off: Turnbull (58).
Booked: Alex,Mikel.
Goals: Kalou 38,Sturridge 116.
Att: 23,170
Ref: Lee Mason (Lancashire).

================================

Mirror:
Everton 1-2 Chelsea (aet) -
Sturridge wins it in extra time for battling visitors
By David Maddock

When Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas celebrated at the end of this match as if he had won the final, you understood the extent of the tense drama that seems almost a recurring theme for his team.
It was the Carling Cup tie that had everything...missed penalties, red cards, missed chances and the usual controversy that surrounds the London club, even if it wasn't quite at the level of their bruising weekend encounter with QPR.
It left Villas-Boas punching the air, and grinning broadly afterwards, the win enough to even allow him a smile about the battle of Loftus Road as he conceded: "I have no complaints about the sending off....this time!"
He was, he insisted, proud of the response of his players after the weekend controversy. "There was so much fall-out from that game, so to show the resilience and character we did here was an incredible sign for us," he proudly asserted.
Eventually, they were the last team standing after slugging it out over 120 tortuous minutes with Everton, to win - or more accurately survive - after an excruciating extra time period, thanks to substitute Daniel Sturridge's strike four minutes from an increasingly likely penalty shoot out.
They had Royston Drenthe to thank, ultimately, for their victory, even if they always looked the stronger side. Everton's only real chance of progressing through to the quarter final came when the visitors were reduced to 10 men early in the second half after keeper Ross Turnbull's dismissal.
But Drenthe threw away that advantage, and that glorious opportunity for another Goodison upset, when he foolishly also got himself sent off in extra time for the second of two stupid yellow cards.
It was, his manager David Moyes admitted, a painfully costly mistake. "That sending off probably turned it because when we were 11 v 10 we were always in control, and the worse we would have got was a penalty shoot out."
Everton should have won in normal time after Turnbull saw red, and played with passion as they searched for the winner, but in extra time they ran out of steam, and when Drenthe trudged off, their chance was gone.
If there was always drama and tension in this tie, then there wasn't true quality often enough, with only Nicolas Anelka and Sturridge when he appeared as a second half sub providing anything approaching a match-winning impetus.
If Sturridge was the ultimate hero, when he was alert enough after 116 gruelling minutes to turn home a rebound when Florent Malouda's shot was beaten into his path, then the night was a tale of two keepers...or rather three, given the contribution from Petr Cech when he came on.
There was a certain symmetry in much of the game, with a horrendous mistake from home keeper Jan Mucha matched by a more unfortunate one from his opposite number Turnbull, to provide pivotal moments in the tie.
Mucha has played only five times for Everton, and his experience at this level was evident, when he inexplicably allowed a tame shot from Salomon Kalou from the edge of his box to slip through his grasp and into the net when it barely had the power to get there under its own steam.
That came on 39 minutes, and by then Chelsea could have been home and dry but for a bad penalty miss from the otherwise excellent Anelka, when he shot wide of the goal following John Heitinga's poor challenge on Josh McEachran.
Chelsea were dominant to that point, with only Louis Saha troubling Turnbull, something he did rather more significantly on 58 minutes when he capitalised on a mistake by David Luiz, and was hauled down.
From the spot kick though, Cech - rushed onto the pitch to face it - saved well from Leighton Baines, and saved even better from the follow up, and when Tim Cahill steered a resulting header wide, you worried for Everton.
They rallied though, and with six minutes remaining, produced a glorious leveller, when sub Seamus Coleman escaped down the right to send over a fine cross that Saha drilled in at the near post.
Drenthe could have won the game for his side in the dying minutes, but instead his naivety lost it for them, and with it an opportunity to head towards Wembley.


==============================

Sun:

Everton 1 Chelsea 2
By PHIL THOMAS

JEEPERS keepers! Another day, another red card for Chelsea — and even redder faces all round.
The red card came for reserve keeper Ross Turnbull, sent packing after 58 minutes for upending Louis Saha as the striker skipped past him in the box.
The red face came 20 minutes earlier for Everton's own second-choice stopper Jan Mucha. He did not so much gift-wrap Chelsea's opener as personally drive it round and drop it at their feet.
Thank heavens for a little sanity in the shape of Petr Cech, who stepped from the bench to show both of the others how to do it with a series of outstanding saves.
Thanks, too — at least from the Goodison fans — to Saha, who maintained his mantle as Chelsea's bogey man by popping up with the late, late goal which forced extra-time.
But the biggest vote of gratitude came from those travelling supporters to sub Daniel Sturridge, whose clinical, dead-eye, 116th-minute finish spared them the squeaky bum scenario of penalties — and booked the Londoners a last-eight ticket.
Mind you, none of that could seriously rival Mucha for bagging the headlines with a clanger so bad it even gave a THIRD Chelsea sending-off in three days serious headline-grabbing competition. In fact, if Mucha can negotiate himself a cut of the royalties for the various Football Blooper DVD's for which last night's cock-up is destined, he can look forward to a comfortable retirement.
Think Ronny Rosenthal's against-the-bar open goal for Liverpool at Aston Villa. Think Bobby Zamora's similar effort against Everton last Sunday, which from that distance could not have gone wider had he sported clowns' shoes.
That is the sort of calamity we are talking here. And even Chelsea, after all the woes of defeat, dismissals and an FA charge in recent days, will have found it hard to keep the smile off their faces. Salomon Kalou certainly did. He looked almost embarrassed to celebrate putting his side in front seven minutes before the break.
There was absolutely no danger when he swung over a lobbed effort that was either a lazy shot or a mishit cross. It was that poor.
Up went Mucha for the simplest of catches. Or so we thought. Unbelievably, he let it slip through his fingers and merely added to the comedy by scuttling back into the net alongside the ball.
Little wonder he had his head in his hands as his team-mates looked on in disbelief. At least he did not drop that.
It is not the only Carling Cup night which has contained Mucha mirth courtesy of Everton's No 2 keeper, whose blunder handed West Brom a spot-kick in the previous round before his side went through on penalties.
Not that he was the only one guilty of slip-ups, even if they were not on the same scale.
Nicolas Anelka had blown a spot-kick when Josh McEachran was hauled down by John Heitinga, clipping his shot off a post.
And how Leighton Baines must have wanted to plant a smacker on Saha, after missing the penalty as Turnbull saw red.
Baines' low spot-kick would never win a Penalty of the Year award. But Cech was still impressive in getting down to it, as he was to fend away the rebound.
Those two blocks, though, were nothing compared to the unbelievable save he produced to fly out and acrobatically deny Diniyar Bilyaletdinov when the Russian looked odds-on to score.
In those four magical minutes, Cech had eclipsed anything his two oppos had done all night. Having said that, it was not exactly difficult. Chelsea had not left Goodison as winners since April 2008. But just when they looked certain to break that jinx, up popped that man Saha to continue his run as the man Stamford Bridge fans love to hate.
He already had five goals in seven games against them before this tie. And with seven minutes remaining he made it half a dozen by coming to the rescue once more.
Seamus Coleman's cross from the right was decent, if not devastating. Yet Saha made it so, as he stepped in front of the leaden-footed David Luiz to bury his header into the corner. Tim Cahill could then have finished it in normal time. The Aussie was springheeled in meeting Royston Drenthe's cross but somehow headed over from bang in front.
With penalties looming, Mucha beat away a Florent Malouda drive, only for Sturridge to show once more he is a finisher supreme by drilling in the rebound.
That looked to be bad enough for Everton. But they also face hosting Manchester United on Saturday minus suspended Drenthe, sent off for a second yellow when he clattered into Ryan Bertrand.

DREAM TEAM STAR MAN — PETER CECH (Chelsea)

EVERTON: Mucha 3, Neville 5, Heitinga 5, Distin 5, Baines 6, Fellaini 7, Cahill 6, Rodwell 6, Bilyaletdinov 6 Saha 8, Drenthe 7. Subs: Hibbert (Neville 45) 7, Stracqualursi (Rodwell 77) 5, Coleman (Bilyaletdinov 80) 7. Not used: Hahnemann, Barkley, Osman, Vellios. Booked: Drenthe, Fellaini. Sent off: Drenthe.
CHELSEA: Turnbull 5, Ivanovic 6, Luiz 4, Alex 6, Bertrand 6, Malouda 6, Romeu 6, McEachran 6, Anelka 6, Lukaku 6, Kalou 7. Subs: Cech (Lukaku 58) 8 DREAM TEAM STAR MAN, Mikel (McEachran 63) 6, Sturridge (Kalou 85) 6. Not used: Ferreira, Lampard, Torres, Mata. Booked: Alex, Mikel. Sent off: Turnbull.


=====================================

Star:

EVERTON 1 CHELSEA 2: DANIEL STURRIDGE MAKES IT EXTRA SPECIAL
By Jeremy Cross

DANIEL STURRIDGE fired Chelsea into the Carling Cup quarter-finals with an extra-time winner on a night of high drama at Goodison Park.
The substitute struck on 116 minutes after Jan Mucha had parried Florent Malouda’s initial drive straight into the path of the England Under-21 star.
It capped a remarkable contest which included two red cards, two missed penalties, an amazing goalline clearance and a host of missed chances from both sides.
Who says the Carling Cup is boring?
But Everton only had themselves to blame for crashing out after failing to deliver the knockout blow to the Blues when Andre Villas-Boas’ men were on the ropes in the second half of normal-time.
Petr Cech looked to have been the unexpected hero as 10-man Chelsea tried to limp into the last eight on a night of incredible action at both ends.
It was a tale of two goalkeepers on Merseyside as one emerged the saviour while his opposite number proved the villain of this fourth-round tie.
Cech didn’t even expect to be involved after starting the game on the bench, but was thrust into the action on the hour when Ross Turnbull was sent off.
Turnbull was shown a straight red card for tripping Louis Saha and conceding a penalty, but Cech came off the bench to deny Leighton Baines with a superb double save.
To make matters worse for hapless Everton, rookie keeper Mucha had gifted the Blues a first-half breakthrough with an horrific blunder.
But Louis Saha rode to the rescue with a headed equaliser six minutes from time to force the tie into extra-time.
Slovakian keeper Mucha somehow allowed Salomon Kalou’s tame effort to beat him and hand Chelsea the lead after 38 minutes.
Kalou’s shot looked harmless and would have been meat and drink to most keepers.
But Mucha turned what wasn’t even a drama into a crisis after letting the ball spin through his fingers and trickle over the line to leave Everton boss David Moyes in despair on the touchline.
Even Kalou was embarrassed to celebrate as Mucha, making just his third appearance of the season, apologised to his stunned team-mates.
His blunder summed up an evening of highs and lows for both sides which also saw Nicolas Anelka miss from the spot inside 16 minutes.
Blues boss Villas-Boas made 10 changes and resisted the chance to stick with his big guns in the wake of last weekend’s shock defeat at QPR.
Captain John Terry was left at home in an attempt to shield him from the spotlight following his alleged race row with Anton Ferdinand, while Cech, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata and Fernando Torres were also absent.
It was a different tale for opposite number Moyes, who named a near full-strength side knowing a place in the quarter-finals was within his grasp.
The Toffees started well and were beginning to dominate when John Heitinga tripped Josh McEachran to concede a penalty.
It was the perfect chance for Villas- Boas’ men to seize the advantage but Anelka sidefooted his tame effort wide.
There seemed no end to the stalemate, that was until seven minutes before the break when Mucha handed the Blues the breakthrough.
It was a sign of things to come as a calamitous second half left both bosses shaking their heads in disbelief.
Anelka wasted a glorious chance to make it 2-0 on 56 minutes before the Blues found themselves down to 10 men moments later when Turnbull received his marching orders.
Cech came to the rescue, having not even warmed up, but all was not lost for the hosts as they piled forward in search of a leveller.
Royston Drenthe saw Cech produce another fine save to tip wide his blistering free-kick before the on-loan Real Madrid man also grazed the crossbar with another fine effort.
It looked like the Blues might hang on but they finally cracked on 84 minutes when Saha converted substitute Seamus Coleman’s cross with a neat header.
Moyes’ men could have even snatched a win in normal-time but wasted a host of chances despite laying siege to the Blues’ goal.
It proved costly when Drenthe was sent off for his second booking of the night in the second half of extra-time after a foul on Ryan Bertrand and that offered the Blues more hope.
It was their turn to pile forward and Anelka saw an effort deflect off Baines’ thigh on to the post and amazingly back into the arms of Mucha
But back came Chelsea and when Mucha could only block Malouda’s effort, Sturridge was on hand to deliver the killer blow with his fifth goal of the season.


==================================

Express:

EVERTON 1 CHELSEA 2 (AET): STURRIDGE HITS THE SPOT FOR CHELSEA
By Matthew Dunn

THERE were red cards and red faces, but Chelsea eventually booked their place in the quarter-finals. More importantly, nobody turned the air blue.
On a night when dramatic actions spoke louder than inappropriate words, two men were sent off, two more missed penalties and Everton goalkeeper Jan Mucha committed a howler that he will struggle to forget.
While 10-man Chelsea were made to sweat for an extra half-hour before Daniel Sturridge coolly slotted home the winner in the final minutes, John Terry had his feet up at home.
Now, having sat this out to avoid picking up a fifth yellow card and suspension – rather than hiding away from controversy on a night when Chelsea would not be drawn on questions about him – he will be charged with leading out his tired cohorts against Arsenal on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Ross Turnbull’s sending-off came on the back of two Chelsea red cards against QPR on Sunday. But manager Andre Villas-Boas was happier with last night’s decision than the ones at Loftus Road.
“There are no complaints about the sending-off – this time,” he said. “It was important to me to win after a defeat that happened like that. It was important to get back to winning ways.
“We were really committed and showed strength of character and resilience. We went down to 10 men once again, which made it difficult, but we were able to triumph over adversity. Although the physical effort was immense, the emotional benefit from the victory means we will feelfresh again for Saturday.”
He had tried to keep his big-name stars as rested as possible by keeping most of them on the bench – more than £120SHrSmillion-worth of talent held back in reserve.
The understudies started brightly enough, but they needed a huge helping hand – or rather two helpless ones – to gift them the lead.
Salomon Kalou’s clip was nothing short of hopeful at best, but Mucha somehow contrived to drop the ball over his line in an appalling fumble.
Chelsea should already have been in front, as minutes earlier Josh McEachran was bundled over by a clumsy challenge from John Heitinga and referee Lee Mason pointed to the spot.
Nicolas Anelka’s calm swagger up to the ball would have been impressively nonchalant if he had not proceeded to send his shot narrowly wide.
Early in the second half, Everton had a chance to show how to score from the spot.
David Luiz’s failure to deal with a bouncing ball enabled Louis Saha to get in behind him, only for Chelsea keeper Turnbull’s momentum to send the Everton striker flying.
Clear penalty. Inescapable red card. The only question was whether Leighton Baines could beat the incoming Petr Cech from the spot. The short answer was no. Cech was also equal to the full-back’s follow-up attempt and Tim Cahill headed the second ricochet high and wide.
Saha, though, has scored five in his last seven games against Chelsea and met with more joy when he popped up at the near post seven minutes from time.
The extra 30 minutes should have suited Everton with their numerical advantage, but that was thrown away minutes after the interval by a second unnecessary yellow card for Royston Drenthe for a foul of Ryan Bertrand.
A brilliant goalline clearance by Baines from Anelka delayed the inevitable but, in the end, nobody could stop Sturridge booking a belated place in the quarter-finals with a cool finish four minutes from time.
Everton manager David Moyes said: “I didn’t think we deserved to lose and over 90 minutes we deserved to win. We have only ourselves to blame for not doing so.
“The boys played really well in the second half and we were really unlucky.”

EVERTON (4-5-1): Mucha; Neville (Hibbert 46), Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Bilyaletdinov (Coleman 81), Fellaini, Cahill, Rodwell (Stracqualursi 78), Drenthe; Saha. Booked: Fellaini, Drenthe. Sent off: Drenthe 107. Goal: Saha 83.

CHELSEA (4-3-3): Turnbull; Ivanovic, Alex, Luiz, Bertrand; Malouda, Romeu, McEachran (Mikel 64); Anelka, Lukaku (Cech 60), Kalou (Sturridge 85). Booked: Alex, Mikel. Sent off: Turnbull 58. Goals: Kalou 38, Sturridge 116.
Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).