Chelsea took the lead midway through the first half through Ruben Loftus-Cheek's calmly-taken effort, but the tension levels were cranked up when Luka Jovic netted an equaliser three minutes into the second half.

It set the stage for a tense, tight remainder of the match as both sides tried to balance their need for a winning goal with the fear of making a crucial error in front of their own net.

And after the remaining 40 minutes of regulation time, then an even more tense half-hour of extra time, the match went to a dramatic penalty shoot-out, where Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga stepped up to make himself a hero as he redeemed himself for past indiscretions with the club.

The Chelsea keeper refused to be substituted by manager Maurizio Sarri ahead of a losing shoot-out at the EFL Cup Final as he was widely criticized for his attitude.

But Kepa's spot-kick heroics received widespread praise from fans on social media, with Twitter user @Blue_Footy saying the Spanish keeper's shoot-out saves redeemed him for his Cup Final meltdown.

"All Kepa's sins have been forgiven. Go save pens, shots and sin no more," he tweeted, while another concurred, tweeting: "ALL IS FORGIVEN FROM THE CARABAO CUP"