1998 Football League Cup Final

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

Match facts

Chelsea v Middlesbrough

29 March 1998 15:00

Chelsea	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Middlesbrough
Sinclair  95' Di Matteo  107'	Report

Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 77,698 Referee: Peter Jones (Leicestershire)

Chelsea

Middlesbrough

GK 1 Ed de Goey RWB 2 Dan Petrescu  75' CB 5 Frank Leboeuf CB 12 Michael Duberry CB 20 Frank Sinclair LWB 14 Graeme Le Saux CM 16 Roberto Di Matteo CM 11 Dennis Wise CM 24 Eddie Newton CF 25 Gianfranco Zola CF 10 Mark Hughes  83' Substitutes: GK 13 Kevin Hitchcock DF 6 Steve Clarke  75' FW 19 Tore André Flo  83' Manager: Gianluca Vialli

GK 1 Mark Schwarzer RB 2 Gianluca Festa CB 4 Steve Vickers CB 5 Nigel Pearson LB 3 Vladimír Kinder RM 10 Paul Merson CM 6 Robbie Mustoe CM 7 Neil Maddison  102' LM 11 Andy Townsend CF 8 Hamilton Ricard  65' CF 9 Marco Branca Substitutes: DF 12 Curtis Fleming FW 13 Mikkel Beck  102' MF 14 Paul Gascoigne  65' Manager: Bryan Robson