Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth: Alvaro Morata scores last-ditch winner moments after Dan Gosling equaliser to send Antonio Conte's side into Carabao Cup semi-finals to face London rivals Arsenal

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As Alvaro Morata's finish trickled into the Bournemouth goal, Antonio Conte let out one of those visceral outpourings of energy.

A minute before, the picture could hardly have been more different.

Leading through an early Willian goal, Chelsea simply switched off after the restart. Chelsea were rattled and Bournemouth's Dan Gosling eventually scored a deserved equaliser just as the game edged into injury time. 

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is sent clean through by Eden Hazard and pokes the ball beyond Artur Boruc

Morata celebrates with a nod to his pregnant wife after sending Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup

The Spaniard received a booking for his celebration and will miss Chelsea's Premier League clash with Everton this weekend

Dan Gosling fires past Willy Caballero in stoppage time and looked to have sent the quarter-final tie into extra-time

Willian makes no mistake from close range to send Chelsea ahead in just the 13th minute of the game at Stamford Bridge

The Brazilian is congratulated by his team-mates after his early strike against Bournemouth on Wednesday night

Willian waves to the crowd after giving the Chelsea fans the perfect start in the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash

MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE 

Chelsea: Caballero 6; Rudiger 6, Ampadu 7, Cahill 6.5; Zappacosta 6, Drinkwater 6, Fabregas 7, Kenedy 7; Pedro 6 (Bakayoko 61, 6), Willian 7 (Hazard 61, 6.5); Batshuayi 5 (Morata 73, 7) 

Subs not used: Clarke-Salter, Eduardo, Sterling, Hudson-Odoi

Goalscorers: Willian 13, Morata 90+1

Booked: Ampadu, Fabregas, Zappacosta, Morata

Manager: Antonio Conte 6.5 

Bournemouth: Boruc 6; A. Smith 6, S Cook 6, Francis 6, Simpson 6.5, Fraser 6.5; Gosling 6, Artur 6.5 (L Cook 73, 6), Surman 6; Mousset 5.5 (Wilson 71, 6), Defoe 5.5 (Ibe 17, 6) 

Subs not used: Ake, Pugh, Ramsdale, Hyndman

Goalscorers: Gosling 90 

Booked: Simpson, A Smith, Francis, Gosling

Manager: Eddie Howe 6 

Referee: Lee Mason 6.5

Willian taps in to give Chelsea a 13th minute lead over Bournemouth. CLICK HERE for more from MATCH ZONE.

 

 

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Conte had seen it coming. Heaven knows he had tried everything from the Chelsea technical area. He tried cajoling his players. Then he introduced his big-hitters. Yet the more frantic Conte became, the more his side retreated into their shell.

Bournemouth played with greater urgency, forcing a succession of corners. Only the most tenacious of blocks from the outstanding 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu denied Guy Mousset an equaliser.

The prospect of extra-time began to haunt Conte's mind. So out came three of Conte's aces in Tiemoue Bakayoko, Eden Hazard and Morata. Yet Chelsea continued to stumble around. Gary Cahill did so quite literally, falling flat on his face to concede a corner.

But the visitors just kept coming. Gosling fired over. Substitute Jordan Ibe flashed a low shot inches wide of Chelsea's goal.

When Gosling's sweet curling strike nestled into the goal shortly before the fourth official raised his board for injury-time, it was the least Eddie Howe's side merited.

Yet in Hazard and Morata, Conte possesses two of the Premier League's most gifted footballers and straight from the kick-off, the pair took matters into their own hands. 

The duo dovetailed beautifully, as Hazard's back-flick freed the Spaniard to seal a dramatic late victory. Morata was booked for his enthusiastic celebrations, ruling him out the weekend visit to Everton.

Jermain Defoe grimaces as he is sent to ground by a thundering challenge by Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu

The England striker receives treatment from the medical team and is forced off the pitch in the 17th minute

Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling sends Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger flying in the opening stages

Danny Drinkwater attempts to win the ball back by pulling on Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling in the first-half

Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter has eyes only for the ball as Cesc Fabregas pays close attention behind him

'It was heart-breaking,' Howe said. Yet for Conte, victory was significant. Certainly, his side's progress in this competition means more than he might have envisaged early in the season.

Conte might have regarded the Carabao Cup as a token reward but amid the broader outlook of Manchester City's excellence and a Champions League duel against Barcelona, a semi-final draw against Arsenal now takes on renewed significance.

Conte's sense of purpose was clear from the team-sheet. The Italian may have made eight changes from the weekend victory over Southampton but his starting XI still came in at a combined value of £218.7m, including the talents of Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Pedro. Hazard and Morata waited on the bench. 

So this was not a scratch Chelsea side. There were places on the bench for two English World Cup winners, in the Under 20 winner Jake Clarke-Salter and Under 17 Callum Hudson-Odoi but neither entered the fray.

Conte was true to his pre-match word, offering another high-level starting opportunity to young Ampadu. He started the previous round against Everton in central midfield and here the Welsh international played at the heart of the Chelsea defence. Sporting his frizzy dreadlocks and lean build, he is a David Luiz doppelganger. 

Michy Batshuayi misses his kick as Chelsea look to gain a foothold in the game against Bournemouth

Bournemouth's Andrew Surman shrugs off the challenge of Cesc Fabregas and looks to send the visitors forward

Cesc Fabregas gets stuck into a firm sliding challenge in an attempt to win the ball from Bournemouth substitute Jordon Ibe

Bournemouth midfielder Dan Gosling attempts to show his physicality against opposite number Ethan Ampadu

Chelsea wing-back Davide Zappacosta looks to escape the attentions of Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser

Ryan Fraser goes down to ground as Cesc Fabregas tackles the Bournemouth man from behind in the first-half

Ampadu's former Exeter manager Paul Tisdale said that he plays with the brain of a 35-year-old yet just like Luiz, there are signs of over-exuberance. The ferocity of Ampadu's slash at Jermain Defoe's ankles inside the opening 80 seconds spoke volumes for a young talent's anxiety to impress. 

Referee Lee Mason took his name yet Ampadu responded so positively to his early set-back, carrying the ball with confidence and defending with urgency and composure.

'It is not simple to play 90 minutes with a yellow card,' Conte said. 'Ampadu showed great maturity and personality. He is very humble and he could have a great future.'

Defoe was forced off by the lunge with suspected ankle ligament damage and that loss represented the latest blow for Howe in a season that simply refuses to take off. 

After suffering two defeats by Manchester United and Liverpool in the past eight days and with the trauma of a visit to Manchester City to endure this weekend, the injury to Defoe, in addition to Harry Artur, who exited with a calf injury, provide further headaches.

Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter leaves one in one opposite number Danny Drinkwater as they challenge for the ball

Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero checks on team-mate Kenedy as he receives medical attention in the second-half

Eden Hazard was a second-half substitute for Chelsea as they sought to put the tie beyond doubt at Stamford Bridge

Bournemouth are seven matches without a victory and a pivotal run of fixtures after Christmas will determine whether a drama becomes a crisis for Howe.

Still, Bournemouth made the more vibrant start to the game and Gosling might have been more composed when a shooting opportunity presented itself early on. Chelsea's attacking qualities soon surfaced.

It was a quite magnificent opening goal. An impudent back-heel from the Brazilian Kenedy released Cesc Fabregas breaking from midfield and as the crowd rose up, Fabregas was the coolest man in the stadium, glancing up and teeing up Willian to score.

For a fleeting while, we wondered whether Chelsea may inflict serious damage to Bournemouth's fragile confidence, as Michy Batshuayi spurned one good chance and Davide Zappacosta fired across goal. Yet the second-half was a different story and ultimately, Chelsea were grateful to come away with any win at all.