Guardian:
Hazard penalty puts Chelsea through against Norwich on dramatic Cup night
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
The anarchy into which this tie descended through extra-time actually made Chelsea’s eventual progress feel almost incidental. Antonio Conte had cause to celebrate Willy Caballero’s fine save and a perfect quintet of penalties in the shootout, but he was still a man on the edge long after the final whistle. So much of this had been the stuff of nightmares.
He could curse Norwich City’s hugely merited equaliser deep into stoppage time at the end of the 90 minutes, a flicked header from Jamal Lewis which thrust the hosts into an extra period they must have dreaded given their cluttered schedule. But then there were the trio of home players booked for diving, and the dismissals for Pedro and Álvaro Morata – two of those who had gone to ground – for second bookable offences in the last three minutes. The second red card prompted one irate home supporter to encroach on the penalty area to berate the referee, Graham Scott.
By then, heckles had been raised with no one inside the stadium clear when the official was referring decisions to the video assistant referee, Mike Jones. Willian’s caution, despite appearing to have been clipped by Timm Klose in the penalty box at the start of extra time, had apparently not been reviewed by Scott, presumably as Jones did not deem it to have been a clear and obvious mistake.
Conte, infuriated on the touchline, frantically shouted “VAR” while gesticulating for its use at a helpless fourth official. He was still simmering as Eden Hazard stroked home the hosts’ fifth penalty to quell Norwich’s challenge once and for all.
The wounds inflicted here will pursue them to Brighton on Saturday lunchtime. Pedro, booked for a dive and then a foul on Wes Hoolahan, and Morata will be missing at the Amex Stadium, the latter having first been cautioned for tumbling away from Christoph Zimmermann and then shown a second yellow for protesting the referee’s decision. That will presumably offer Michy Batshuayi, a player Chelsea would be willing to loan to Sevilla if a replacement could be purchased, another opportunity on the south coast, with the Belgian having at least emerged from a disjointed first-half display to pilfer his side’s lead from Kenedy’s low centre.
Morata had replaced him nine minutes from time and might have scored to settle the tie, steering a header wide of the far post, but Norwich had carried a threat on the counter throughout and eventually plucked reward. Nelson Oliveira and Josh Murphy had already struck the woodwork when, just as their opportunity appeared to have gone, with Chelsea seeking to close down the contest, they rallied four minutes into added time. Klose’s centre was optimistic but Lewis, a 19-year-old graduate of Norwich’s youth system, infiltrated space between centre-halves to head in the equaliser off the far post.
Thereafter, Angus Gunn kept the hosts at bay as Conte flung Hazard and the cavalry into the fray in the hope Premier League quality might tell. The Manchester City loanee’s brilliance in extra-time, denying Willian and Morata twice from close range, took the breath away. He had been just as acrobatic in tipping Danny Drinkwater’s earlier effort on to the crossbar at full stretch. The England under-21 international goalkeeper’s only frustration was his inability to muster a save in the shoot-out though, in truth, that could not be counted against him. Caballero, denying Oliveira, pulled off the decisive intervention.
For a team who have seen five experienced players depart Carrow Road since the original tie, this was still an admirable display from the Championship side even if that might have been lost amid the controversy. Klose might even have plundered the latest of winners with a free header in what time remained after Morata’s dismissal. “There are players in our dressing room with tears in their eyes,” said Daniel Farke, Norwich’s manager. “We were so close to creating a really big, big sensation.” Newcastle will hope to go one better when they visit in the fourth round.
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Mail:
Chelsea 1-1 Norwich (aet, 5-3 pens)
By Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail
In the end, penalties proved Chelsea's salvation as they staggered into the FA Cup fourth round but for 120 minutes penalties seemed set to be their downfall.
Pedro, Willian and Alvaro Morata were all booked for diving as they tried in vain to win spot-kicks for their team — with Pedro and Morata later sent off by referee Graham Scott.
Pedro was shown a second yellow card for a foul and Morata saw red for his angry reaction when Scott punished the striker for simulation.
Antonio Conte leapt around his technical area, locked in animated discussion with fourth official Andre Marriner. No matter how many times Conte mimed the shape of a TV set there would be no intervention from the referee's video assistant Mike Jones. All of this made for a tense and confusing third-round replay.
Of the three flashpoints, Willian's tumble in the first half of extra time was the most controversial.
Timm Klose did not win the ball and he slid in and made contact with the Brazilian player as he dribbled through a crowded penalty box. Even Klose admitted afterwards he thought it was a foul. Scott, however, was sure it was not and booked the Brazilian.
When it came to Pedro and Morata, the video evidence supported the officials.
Chelsea's players were diving out of desperation and it backfired with the Willian decision.
'A big, big mistake,' said Conte. 'Not for the referee on the pitch but the referee watching the TV. He can improve and he must improve.'
The second yellow for Pedro, for a tired, mistimed slide tackle on Wes Hoolahan, was impossible to dispute. And the referee was quite within his rights to send off Morata for dissent. Conte will be without them both when Chelsea go to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.
Extra time, penalties and two suspensions will do little to ease his anxieties about the congested fixture schedule.
Having spent most of the game appealing for penalties which were not given, the tie was settled by spot-kicks. Willy Caballero saved Norwich's first, taken by Nelson Oliveira, and Chelsea were unerring.
Eden Hazard stepped forward to convert the winning penalty and secure a fourth-round tie against Newcastle. Norwich boss Daniel Farke said his beaten players were moved to tears in the dressing room having come so close to a major FA Cup upset.
The tie never seemed likely to become so fraught or emotional when Michy Batshuayi opened the scoring early in the second half.
Willian and Kenedy linked up in a tight area on the Chelsea left and Batshuayi escaped the attentions of Grant Hanley to find space to meet the cross at the near post.
Norwich's stubborn resistance had finally been broken and the much-maligned Batshuayi was able to celebrate his first goal at senior level since mid-October.
The goal transformed the contest from a tight affair into a high-tempo thriller. Norwich ventured forward and played with more risk.
Josh Murphy hit a post with a bouncing volley and Caballero made a fabulous low save to thwart James Maddison.
The clock had ticked into the fourth minute of added time by the time Jamal Lewis levelled. Klose swung in a hopeful cross from the left flank and the teenager arrived to glance a header past Caballero and in off the far post.
Conte had already abandoned his plans to give his first-teamers a night off. Morata, Andreas Christensen and N'Golo Kante were sent on while his team were defending their lead and Hazard was sent on in extra time.
How Chelsea rued a cluster of missed chances early in the game. Norwich barely made it out of their own territory during the opening half-hour but when they did Oliveira almost gave them the lead.
Batshuayi, deep in his own half, played a sloppy crossfield pass straight to the striker 30 yards from goal and his instant shot swerved past Caballero, clipped the bar and bounced over.
Norwich took confidence from the near miss and grew into the game. Their momentum was set back by Batshuayi's goal but they refused to give up.
Morata missed two good chances to settle the tie before teenager Lewis took the game into a frenzied extra time period when the VAR system was tested. If it worked at Leicester on Tuesday, this was less clear.
HOW THE CRAZY NIGHT UNFOLDED
55min: After an uneventful first half, Michy Batshuayi puts Chelsea ahead with a close-range finish.
62min: Referee Graham Scott books Pedro for a blatant dive in the box after skipping past Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
90+4min: Jamal Lewis sends the game into extra time when he heads in Timm Klose's cross.
91min: Willian goes down in the box after appearing to be clipped by Klose but Scott does not give a penalty. Despite replays showing contact, the Video Assistant Referee does not overturn Scott's decision as it was not an 'obvious' error and Willian is booked for diving.
95min: This time it's Morata shouting for a penalty, making the TV sign to the referee after falling under a Klose challenge, but no spot-kick is given.
109min: Scott waves away claims for another Chelsea penalty after Klose blocks a shot and the ball appears to hit his arm.
118min: Pedro is given his marching orders, picking up his second yellow card for chopping down Wes Hoolahan to halt a Norwich counter-attack.
120min: Morata becomes the third Chelsea player to be booked for diving after he goes down rather easily under a Christoph Zimmermann challenge. Morata reacts angrily to referee Scott, who promptly brandishes a second yellow for dissent and sends off the striker!
CHELSEA XI (3-4-3): Caballero; Ampadu (Christensen 81 mins), Luiz, Azpilicueta; Zappacosta, Drinkwater (Hazard 100), Bakayoko, Kenedy (Kante 87); Willian, Batshuayi (Morata 81), Pedro
Subs not used: Eduardo, Musonda, Sterling
Goal: Batshuayi 55
Booked: Pedro, Willian, Morata
Sent off: Pedro, Morata
NORWICH XI (3-4-3): Gunn; Hanley (Cantwell 86 (Stiepermann 120), Zimmermann, Klose; Pinto (Tettey 116), Reed (Hoolahan 82), Vrancic, Lewis; Oliveira, Maddison, Murphy.
Subs not used: McGovern, Husband, Raggett
Goal: Lewis 90+4
Booked: Maddison
Referee: Graham Scott
Attendance: 39,684
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