Chelsea ease into League Cup semis; Dortmund thump Hannover briskets

Globetrotting Chelsea bounced back from their defeat in the FIFA Club World Cup final to Corinthians with a resounding victory in the League Cup at Leeds.

Rafael Benitez's side ran out 5-1 winners at the second tier outfit, having trailed 1-0 at halftime, thanks to goals from Juan Mata, Branislav Ivanovic, Victor Moses, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres.

Having arrived back in London from Japan on Monday after their defeat in FIFA's showpiece club tournament, Chelsea progressed to the last eight on a rain-soaked night Yorkshire.



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Luciano Becchio gave Leeds -- European Champions League semifinalists back in 2001 -- a first half lead but Spain's Mata equalized early in the second half.

Read: Corinthians down Chelsea to take World title

Two goals in two minutes took the tie away from Leeds as Ivanovic nodded home from a corner before Moses' shot from outside the area found the net.

Hazard finished calmly in the game's dying stages when sprung through on goal and the Belgian then teed up Torres for his sixth goal in five games.

Benitez, who replaced the sacked Roberto Di Matteo in November, told Sky Sports: 'The team was quite good in first half; there were some situations where the keeper played pretty well.

'The players were a little tired but the reaction was amazing. We were looking for character and the reaction was so good, there were a lot of positives in this game.'

Asked whether he felt more settled in the job after a difficult start Benitez replied: 'I was comfortable from the first day. I will try and do my best until the end.'

Chelsea will now face Swansea in the final four, while another Premier League side, Aston Villa, will play fourth tier Bradford, who knocked out Arsenal.

Elsewhere, champions Borussia Dortmund set up a repeat of last year's German Cup final against runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich after thumping Hannover 5-1.

German international Mario Gotze scored a hat-trick while Pole Jakub Blaszczykowski grabbed two goals. Dortmund will now face Bayern hoping for a repeat of their 5-2 victory in last season's final.

VfL Bochum, VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg are also through to the last eight.

Read: Napoli hit by match-fixing related points deduction

In Italy, Napoli were defeated at home by Bologna for the second time in three days as they crashed out of the Italian Cup. It was their first match since being docked two points and having two players banned in a match-fixing scandal.

Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani gave Napoli the lead but goals from Cristian Pasquato and Panagiotis Kone have the away side a 2-1 win to go with their their 3-2 success in Serie A on Sunday.

Lazio had to rely on penalties to edge past Siena, while Fiorentina triumphed 1-0 away at Udinese.

Luciano Becchio gave Leeds -- European Champions League semifinalists back in 2001 -- a first half lead but Spain's Mata equalized early in the second half. Two goals in two minutes took the tie away from Leeds as Ivanovic nodded home from a corner before Moses' shot from outside the area found the net. In Italy, Napoli were defeated at home by Bologna for the second time in three days as they crashed out of the Italian Cup. It was their first match since being docked two points and having two players banned in a match-fixing scandal. Two goals in two minutes took the tie away from Leeds as Ivanovic nodded home from a corner before Moses' shot from outside the area found the net. Rafael Benitez's side ran out 5-1 winners at the second tier outfit, having trailed 1-0 at halftime, thanks to goals from Juan Mata, Branislav Ivanovic, Victor Moses, Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres. Two goals in two minutes took the tie away from Leeds as Ivanovic nodded home from a corner before Moses' shot from outside the area found the net. 'The players were a little tired but the reaction was amazing. We were looking for character and the reaction was so good, there were a lot of positives in this game.' German international Mario Gotze scored a hat-trick while Pole Jakub Blaszczykowski grabbed two goals. Dortmund will now face Bayern hoping for a repeat of their 5-2 victory in last season's final. Luciano Becchio gave Leeds -- European Champions League semifinalists back in 2001 -- a first half lead but Spain's Mata equalized early in the second half. 'The players were a little tired but the reaction was amazing. We were looking for character and the reaction was so good, there were a lot of positives in this game.' 'The players were a little tired but the reaction was amazing. We were looking for character and the reaction was so good, there were a lot of positives in this game.' Two goals in two minutes took the tie away from Leeds as Ivanovic nodded home from a corner before Moses' shot from outside the area found the net. Asked whether he felt more settled in the job after a difficult start Benitez replied: 'I was comfortable from the first day. I will try and do my best until the end.' 'The players were a little tired but the reaction was amazing. We were looking for character and the reaction was so good, there were a lot of positives in this game.'

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