Middlesbrough and Michael Carrick pulled off a huge upset by beating former Premier League champions Chelsea 1-0 in front of a raucous Riverside Stadium.
Chelsea dominated possession in the first half and had a big chance to break the deadlock but Cole Palmer could only strike wide. However, it was Middlesbrough who took the lead through Hayden Hackney when he slotted home Isaiah Jones' cross.
However, the Blues continued to create opportunities with Palmer again coming close on two separate occasions. Chelsea kept pushing for an equaliser in the second half but it just wasn't to be as the visitors failed to break down the Boro defence.
It proved to be a night to remember for the Middlesbrough faithful, who are now just 90 minutes away from a potential trip to Wembley.
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Story of the match
A total of 12 first-team players were missing for Middlesbrough due injury, suspension and international duty. Manager Michael Carrick was forced to make four changes to the side defeated by Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Dael Fry came in to replace Matthew Clarke in defence whilst Jonny Howson returned to captain the side in place of the suspended Morgan Rogers. Elsewhere, Matt Crooks replaced Sam Greenwood, who was cup-tied and Emmanuel Latte Lath started up front ahead of Josh Coburn.
Meanwhile, for Chelsea, just three changes were made by Mauricio Pochettino from the team that comfortably won 4-0 against Preston North End. Thiago Silva returned to the backline ahead of Alfie Gilchrist whilst Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were replaced by Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke.
The first opportunity of the night fell to Middlesbrough when Latte Lath capitalised on a Levi Colwill mistake but his strike was comfortable for Djordje Petrovic. However, Latte Lath's night was short lived as the forward was substituted after just five minutes and replaced by Coburn.
Meanwhile, up the other end, Chelsea threatened when Madueke played through Cole Palmer, whose shot on the edge of the area was palmed away by Tom Glover. The Blues began to grow into the game despite a sluggish start but did very little to trouble Australian shot stopper Glover.
Having already lost Latte Lath early on, Carrick faced yet another setback when defender Alex Bangura came off through injury with Matthew Clarke taking his place. With only 20 minutes played, Middlesbrough had already made two of their allocated three substitutions.
Chelsea looked more likely to open the scoring in the first half as Madueke made a darting run into the penalty area before being tackled off the ball. Shortly after, a header from Levi Colwill was put over the bar.
On 31 minutes however, the away side had a huge chance to take the lead when Palmer won back possession on the edge of the box but his effort drifted wide of the target. Boro also came close moments after but Hayden Hackney's shot was off-target.
However, Hackney made amends in the 37th minute and gave Middlesbrough the lead. A brilliant long ball fell to Isaiah Jones down the right hand side, whose cross was put home by Hackney. A surprise lead for the Championship side.
Chelsea had a chance to draw themselves level deep into first half stoppage time but Moises Caicedo's strike was inches wide. Moments later, the Blues threatened again as a shot from Enzo Fernandez fell kindly to Palmer, who could only miss the target from close range.
Palmer was close for a third time having made a great run into the box but his shot was kept out by Glover. Middlesbrough went in at the break 1-0 in front having punished Chelsea for being wasteful in front of goal.
Second Half
Seven minutes after the restart, Pochettino's men threatened an equaliser as Fernandez's cross was met by the head of Madueke, whose attempt was straight at Glover. Conor Gallagher also came close just shy of the hour mark but his effort drifted wide of the target.
With the Blues still trailing 1-0, Pochettino made a double substitution which saw Madueke and Fernandez replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja respectively. Middlesbrough had an opportunity to double their lead midway through the second half but Daniel Barlaser's effort was way off-target.
Meanwhile, Mudryk was involved for the first time since coming on but the Ukrainian could only shoot straight at the goalkeeper. Another chance then went begging for Chelsea as Raheem Sterling's strike was over the bar.
Middlesbrough continued to stand firm and hold onto their one goal advantage as a cross-fiield ball from forward Broja was put wide. Alfie Gilchrist was brought on in the closing stages for Chelsea, taking Malo Gusto's place at full-back.
Deep into added time, a header at the backpost from the youngster deflected wide which very much summed up Chelsea's night in front of goal. In the end, the home side managed to hold on to a vital one goal advantage to take to Stamford Bridge in two weeks time.
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Player of the match: Isaiah Jones
On a memorable night for Middlesbrough, winger Isaiah Jones was the star of the show having been a huge threat down the right side with his pace and quick feet.
Jones was key to the only goal of the game, latching onto a ball played over-the-top before getting the better of defender Levi Colwill. From that point onwards, Jones had the freedom of the penalty area to set up Hackney.
The 24-year-old continued to be a nightmare for Chelsea, especially on the counterattack. Quite possibly the best game of his career and with a tough second leg coming up, he may be needed to work his magic once more.
