1998 Football League Cup final

January 2015 April 2014 April 2026 1998 Football League Cup final 1998 Football League Cup Final programme.jpg 200px Match programme cover 1997–98 Football League Cup Chelsea 2 Middlesbrough 0 After extra time 29 March 1998 Wembley Stadium London Dennis Wise (Chelsea) Peter Jones (Leicestershire) 77,698 1997 1999 The 1998 Football League Cup final was a football match played between Chelsea and Middlesbrough on 29 March 1998 at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea, under new manager Gianluca Vialli, won with two extra time goals and won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup later that season. Middlesbrough's second consecutive defeat in the final was followed by promotion back to the Premier League after just one season. Both teams were restricted to shots from distance. This all changed in extra time when Chelsea took control. Frank Sinclair, a villain in the 1994 FA Cup final defeat when conceding a penalty and slipping to allow Mark Hughes to score, became the hero in this match. He started the move that ended with his header finding the corner of the Middlesbrough net to open the scoring. Chelsea's second goal came from Roberto Di Matteo. A corner played into the near post was not cleared by the Boro defence and Di Matteo was able to side foot the ball into the net on the half-volley. Di Matteo had come back to haunt Middlesbrough as he had scored the opening goal when the same sides met in the 1997 FA Cup final the previous season. Once again Chelsea had won 2–0. Road to Wembley Chelsea     Round 3: Chelsea 1–1 Blackburn Rovers (Chelsea won 4–1 on penalties) Round 4: Chelsea 2–1 Southampton Quarter-final: Ipswich Town 2–2 Chelsea (Chelsea won 4–1 on penalties) Semi-final, 1st leg: Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea Semi-final, 2nd leg: Chelsea 3–1 ArsenalMiddlesbrough Round 2, 1st leg: Middlesbrough 1–0 Barnet Round 2, 2nd leg: Barnet 0–2 Middlesbrough Round 3: Middlesbrough 2–0 Sunderland   Round 4: Middlesbrough 2–1 Bolton Wanderers a.e.t. Quarter-final: Reading 0–1 Middlesbrough   Semi-final, 1st leg: Liverpool 2–1 Middlesbrough Semi-final, 2nd leg: Middlesbrough 2–0 Liverpool Match facts 29 March 1998 15:00 Chelsea 2–0 yes Report Middlesbrough Sinclair 95Di Matteo 107 Wembley Stadium, London 77,698 Peter Jones (Leicestershire) _chelsea1997h _chelsea1997h _chelsea1997h _chelsea1997h _bluetop 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF Chelsea _whiteborder _whitehorizontal _whiteborder _redsides _white_bands FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 FFFFFF FF0000 Middlesbrough GK 1 NED Ed de GoeyRWB2 ROM Dan Petrescu 75CB 5 FRA Frank Leboeuf CB 12ENG Michael DuberryCB 20JAM Frank SinclairLWB14ENG Graeme Le Saux CM 16ITA Roberto Di MatteoCM 11ENG Dennis Wise (c) CM 24ENG Eddie NewtonCF 25ITA Gianfranco ZolaCF 10WAL Mark Hughes 83Substitutes:GK 13ENG Kevin HitchcockDF 6 SCO Steve Clarke 75FW 19NOR Tore André Flo 83Manager:ITA Gianluca Vialli GK 1 AUS Mark SchwarzerRB 2 ITA Gianluca FestaCB 4 ENG Steve VickersCB 5 ENG Nigel Pearson (c)LB 3 SVK Vladimír KinderRM 10ENG Paul MersonCM 6 ENG Robbie MustoeCM 7 ENG Neil Maddison 102LM 11IRL Andy Townsend CF 8 COL Hamilton Ricard 65CF 9 ITA Marco BrancaSubstitutes:DF 12IRL Curtis FlemingFW 13DEN Mikkel Beck 102MF 14ENG Paul Gascoigne 65Manager:ENG Bryan Robson 1998 League Cup final 1998 League Cup final 1998 Category:1997–98 in English men's football cups Category:EFL Cup seasons Category:March 1998 sports events in the United Kingdom Category:1998 in sport in London