Chelsea
Chelsea's Didier Drogba (4th L) celebrates his goal against Shrewsbury Town with team mates during their League Cup fourth round soccer match at New MeadowReuters

Chelsea progressed to the quarterfinals of the Capital One Cup following a narrow 2-1 victory over League two side Shrewsbury Town at New Meadow.

Didier Drogba's early second half strike was cancelled out by Andrew Mangan, but a last minute own goal by Jermaine Grandison ensured the Blues' progress in the League Cup.

Jose Mourinho made seven changes to his side which recorded a 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday in the English Premier League. Youngsters including Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Nathan Ake were all given starts along with Petr Cech, Jon Obi Mikel, Mohamed Salah and Andre Schurrle.

Despite the Blues fielding a relatively strong squad, it was Shrewsbury Town who started positively with Nathaniel Knight-Percival testing Cech with a good header from a corner in the 5th minute.

The hosts again got an opportunity as Bobby Grant received the ball in a very good position, but the on-loan Blackpool forward was unable to get his effort on target.

Drogba finally found the net for Chelsea in the closing stages of the first half, but the Ivorian's goal was ruled out for offside.

However, Drogba did not have to wait long for a goal as he put the Blues in front right at the start of the second half. Schurrle and Salah combined brilliantly to set up the 36-year-old striker, who made no mistake as he rammed a low volley past Jayson Leutwiler in the 48th minute.

The Blues threatened to double their advantage through Schurrle in the 51st minute but Leutwiler made an excellent finger tip save to keep out a fierce 30-yard strike from the German.

The hosts came close to getting the equaliser in the 55th minute when Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro fired an excellent volley towards goal, but the ball went inches wide of the post after taking a deflection from James Collins.

Four minutes later, at the other end, Leutwiler kept his side in the game as he managed to keep out a venomous effort from Drogba.

The save proved to be very important as Shrewsbury finally levelled the score through Mangan in the 77th minute. Grandison managed to head a corner towards Mangan, who fired the ball home from close range despite Mikel's best efforts.

Just as the game looked like it was heading towards extra time, Chelsea got the winner through an own goal. Willian, who came in as a substitute for Salah, tried to find Drogba with a cross, but Grandison stuck out his leg and diverted the ball into his own net, giving the Blues a dramatic win.


Shrewsbury vs Chelsea (1-2) Full Highlights 28... by rubin7190