Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has told his players to embrace the challenge of walking into the lion’s den at Chelsea with a place in the Carabao Cup final at stake.

Boro head coach Carrick saw his team secure a 1-0 first-leg lead at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday evening, which will send them to Stamford Bridge on January 23 with something to defend.

The Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls had to endure a tide of pressure on their own pitch to emerge with a clean sheet, and they can expect an onslaught on a night when a repeat would send them to Wembley.

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However Carrick, whose side lost 1-0 to Chelsea’s Premier League counterparts Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round at the weekend, said: “It’s embracing it.

“The last two games the boys have coped very, very well with Villa at the weekend and tonight, this being different because it’s obviously a lot further on in the competition and there was much more of an opportunity in this one with the expectations, the hope, the challenge that they faced.

“I couldn’t have hoped or asked for anything more. I keep saying the next one is a totally different one, it’s a new challenge totally.

“The boys will be ready for it and we’ll be ready to perform. We’ll look forward to it and embrace the challenge because it’s an unbelievable challenge and position that we find ourselves in.”

Hackney’s 37th-minute strike, which came after Isaiah Jones had made the most of Dan Barlaser’s fine through ball, ultimately settled a game in which Mauricio Pochettino’s expensively-assembled side dominated possession, but failed to make the most of the chances they created with Cole Palmer passing up no fewer than three himself.

Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo alone cost in excess of £220million, but along with Conor Gallagher, got little change out of a Boro midfield of Hackney, Barlaser and Jonny Howson to leave Carrick purring.

Asked if it was his best night yet as a manager, the 42-year-old former Manchester United and England midfielder said: !It’s as proud as I’ve been, I have to say again, of the players.

“Knowing what they’ve put in and how close a group they are and seeing the stadium supporting the lads right to the end when they needed that bit of help for the last 10 minutes or so, standing there and seeing that made me hugely proud, so it was a good night for that, a really good night for that and hopefully we can create some more of them in the future.”

Pochettino was measured after a disappointing night on Teesside, during which he admitted the Blues had been punished both for their mistakes and their profligacy in front of goal.

The Argentinian said: “I am disappointed because I think we deserved a different result, but sometimes you don’t play well and you win.

“For us, it’s like we need to play well, we need to score goals. We play well, but sometimes we are not clinical enough and sometimes we are punished. That is the process in this moment we are in.

“Always when you are building a team, this kind of scenario is tough because you not only need to play well, but you need to deserve and have some luck.”

What the papers say

Tottenham will have to battle Bayern Munich to sign their top defensive target Radu Dragusin from Romania after the German giants tabled a late offer, the Telegraph reports. The 21-year-old defender plays for Genoa in the Serie A and has scored two goals and added an assist in 19 games in the competition this year.

The Mirror says Jadon Sancho, who was confirmed to be in negotiations with Borussia Dortmund, will return to Manchester United after a loan deal with the German club as they can not afford the transfer fee. The 23-year-old has only played three games this year for Erik ten Hag’s side.

Newcastle United will staunchly reject any offer from Paris St Germain for their Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, the i reports.

Tottenham will join Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in the race for 21-year-old Middlesborough midfielder Hayden Hackney, the Evening Standard reports.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jordan Henderson: The former Liverpool captain, now at Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League, has drawn interest from Ajax, but will have to stave off competition from British and German clubs, ESPN says.

Vangelis Pavlidis: The Evening Standard reports the Greek striker, 25, is now on the Fulham’s radar. Pavlidis, who is at AZ Alkmaar, is also being monitored by Chelsea, AC Milan and Barcelona.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick believes his side had to “suffer” to earn a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Hayden Hackney capitalised on missed Chelsea chances, scoring in the 37th minute to hand Boro a valuable advantage going into the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge on January 23.

His goal came after already-depleted Boro were forced into two early changes, with Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Bangura taken off with injury in the opening 20 minutes.

They defended well to ensure they are now one leg away from the final of the competition they won back in 2004 and Carrick urged his side to enjoy the victory.

He said post-match: “Listen, it’s very special.

“There’s totally two sides to this one: there’s the game tonight and what we had to go through and suffer a little bit to find a way to win, and there’s obviously the fact that there’s another game.

“I have to credit the players and celebrate their performance and effort, because it’s not easy at all to beat a team like that with the quality that they’ve got and to suffer the kind of injuries that we had as well early on – as if we didn’t have enough injuries to start with.

“Tonight was a really special night, the atmosphere, Hayden scoring, it was such a good night for us, so we’ve got to take that as a one-off and enjoy that to be honest. The second leg is a whole new ball game and we know what we’re walking into and he challenges we face.”

Dan Barlaser’s long pass played Isaiah Jones in behind Levi Colwill to cross into Hackney, who stuck out a leg to stab past Djordje Petrovic.

Carrick said: “Honestly, it couldn’t happen to a nicer lad.

“He’s everything we could ever hope for in a player – he’s humble, he’s hard-working, he’s hugely talented, obviously, and great to work with.”

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino believes his side were “not clinical enough” as they wasted a trio of brilliant chances in the first half.

Cole Palmer fired wide just before Hackney put Boro ahead then had two more chances, firing over the bar after Tom Glover spilled Enzo Fernandez’s effort before failing to beat the keeper after cutting in from the right.

Pochettino said: “I think we made some mistakes in the first half and we were punished for that.

“We created big chances and we didn’t score, we were not clinical enough, that is so clear.

“We have to credit of course Middlesbrough, it’s the first 90 minutes in the first half of the tie.

“We are losing 1-0 but in two weeks we are going to have the second tie and we need to be positive we can win the game and go to the final.”

Pochettino also refuted suggestions Chelsea players had been booed off the pitch by their visiting fans.

“The fans were reacting with the fans, with Middlesbrough fans, not with our players,” he added.

“Our fans were fantastic as they support us but I think it was Thiago (Silva) and some players, what I hear is they were trying to calm our fans because I think there was a problem between the fans, not between our fans and our players.”

Mauricio Pochettino bemoaned Chelsea’s profligacy following their shock 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

The Premier League side dominated at the Riverside Stadium but squandered a host of chances, with Cole Palmer particularly wasteful.

Hayden Hackney’s first-half goal earned the Sky Bet Championship hosts a slender advantage ahead of the return meeting at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time.

“We had too many chances to score where we didn’t score – that is football,” Blues boss Pochettino told Sky Sports.

“Of course we are disappointed. It is the first half of the tie. We have another 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and we have to be positive.

“We made some mistakes and we were punished for that.”

Some of Chelsea’s travelling fans reacted angrily to the defeat at full-time.

“If we assess the performance, overall we were the better side, we create more chances, we have clear chances,” continued Pochettino.

“But we didn’t score and we were not clinical and that has happened a lot this season – so many games we didn’t win because we weren’t clinical enough.”

Chelsea striker Cole Palmer squandered a hat-trick of chances as Hayden Hackney handed Sky Bet Championship Middlesbrough a priceless first-leg lead in their Carabao Cup semi-final.

The England international, who had earlier been denied by Boro keeper Tom Glover, passed up three opportunities either side of Hackney’s 37th-minute strike, which ensured Michael Carrick’s men will head for Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time with a 1-0 lead.

On a night when the 2004 winners managed to frustrate the side who beat them in the 1998 final for long periods, the big-spending Premier League club failed to find top gear despite boss Mauricio Pochettino naming Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling and Palmer in a strong starting line-up.

For their part, the Teessiders were organised, dogged and a threat on the break, and reaped the rewards three days after suffering a heartbreaking late defeat by top-flight Aston Villa in the FA Cup.

The visitors’ goal came under threat within seconds of kick-off when Colwill’s poorly-directed header delivered the ball straight into the path of Emmanuel Latte Lath, although the striker scuffed his shot straight at keeper Djordje Petrovic as defender Axel Disasi tried desperately to close him down and caught him in his follow-through.

The Boro frontman struggled on after treatment, but eventually limped off to be replaced by Josh Coburn with just five minutes gone.

Palmer forced Glover into a full-length save as Chelsea responded, but with widemen Isaiah Jones and Alex Bangura – whose evening was ended prematurely minutes later by a hamstring injury – enjoying the space afforded to them, the Teessiders made early inroads.

The occasional flurry from Noni Madueke aside, neither team was able to create a chance of note until Colwill headed over from Palmer’s 29th-minute cross, but Jonny Howson was fortunate to get away with a dreadful crossfield pass which put Palmer in on goal two minutes later, only for the 21-year-old to drag his shot wastefully wide.

Chelsea were made to pay with eight minutes of the first half remaining when Dan Barlaser played Jones in behind Colwill and he crossed to Hackney at the near post to stab past Petrovic.

Palmer had two glorious opportunities to level in stoppage time when he spooned the ball over the top after Glover had spilled Enzo Fernandez’s shot from distance, and then failed to beat the keeper after cutting inside from the right.

The visitors remained patient on their return but largely played in front of Boro, who looked comfortable in their shape as they protected a precious advantage with little fuss.

Madueke headed straight at Glover from Fernandez’s 53rd-minute cross and then flashed the ball dangerously across goal after worming his way in from the right, and Gallagher fired wide on the turn eight minutes later amid relentless pressure.

Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were introduced with little sign of an equaliser imminent and after Barlaser had shot high and wide from a pacy counter-attack, Glover needed two attempts to collect Mudryk’s 73rd-minute attempt.

However, that was as good as it got for Pochettino’s misfiring side, who have work to do on home soil in the deciding leg.

What the papers say

Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney is attracting a lot of Premier League interest, according to the Daily Mail. The paper says scouts from Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool have all been watching the 21-year-old, who is likely to leave the club next year.

Meanwhile, The Sun, citing Marca, reports former Wolves and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui is wanted by both Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest. The 57-year-old has not been in charge of a club since parting ways with Wolves in August, but is believed to be open to another manager job.

Another manager potentially on the move is Will Still, boss of Ligue 1 side Reims. The Telegraph says Sunderland are in talks to appoint the 31-year-old.

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Giovani Lo Celso: Barcelona are eyeing a January loan move for the Tottenham midfielder, according to website 90min.

Serhou Guirassy: Sport Bild reports Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle are chasing the Stuttgart forward.