COLE AND CO BURY BORO

Palmer strikes twice as the merciless Blues book a comfortable passage to Wembley

- JOHN CROSS

EIGHTEEN months into Todd Boehly’s reign and Chelsea are back to doing what they do best.

The Blues became serial winners and perennial cup f inal i sts under Roman Abramovich, and Mauricio Pochettino appears to have picked up the knack.

This was Easy Street for Chelsea. They swept aside a Middlesbrough team, who embarrassed themselves at Stamford Bridge, and left visiting boss Michael Carrick looking ashen-faced on the touchline.

Cole Palmer struck twice and is rapidly becoming Chelsea’s most important player but it was not even as if the Blues needed to be at their best.

They will surely face a tougher task at Wembley in next month’s final whether they face Liverpool or Fulham but now, finally, Pochettino can look forward with optimism and real hope.

Pochettino reached the Carabao Cup final nine years ago, while in charge of Tottenham, but lost to Chelsea. And now it is a chance for the Argentine to win his first domestic trophy in English football.

From a bizarre season, which has lurched from setback to disappointment, the mood inside the Bridge was loud and buzzing, as Chelsea are going back to Wembley.