Michael Carrick singles out one Chelsea player following the 6-1 defeat, but the national media disagrees

Michael Carrick singled out a Chelsea star following Middlesbrough's 6-1 defeat, while the national media praised another player.

Chelsea smashed six goals past the Championship team as they booked their spot in next month's Carabao Cup final.

The Blues trailed 1-0 from the first-leg, but the Premier League side made no mistake in Tuesday's second-leg.

Chelsea took the lead through a Jonny Howson own-goal, with Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi and Cole Palmer scoring before the break.

Palmer bagged his second goal of the night to add his side's fifth as Noni Madueke completed the rout.

After the match, Manchester United legend Carrick spoke glowingly about Palmer, calling him a 'real talent' in high praise.

"He is a real talent. Nice lad as well. Down to Earth and you can see when you come up against him he will go on to have a great career. It's not nice when you are on the end of it but we can appreciate and respect how good he is," he said via The Mirror.

Mauricio Pochettino echoed Carrick's sentiment and hailed the 21-year-old's ability to play anywhere in the forward line.

"He is a player with an amazing talent. It is a player that understands the game. He has the quality and the talent to see the situation and to read the game in another aspect," he added.

"He can play from the right, striker or in behind the striker. We try to give him freedom because in this type of game he can find the best position to help the team. For me, [the best part] is when he presses and then the intuition to get the ball back."

Cole Palmer celebrates scoring a goal for Chelsea. Image: Getty

Palmer, who joined the Stamford Bridge outfit from Manchester City last summer, has been in brilliant form this season, scoring 11 goals in all competitions.

However, the national media picked out another Chelsea star as Matt Law of The Telegraph wrote about Ben Chilwell's importance.

"What a difference a left-back makes. This was not just Ben Chilwell’s first start since September, it was the first time he started in his preferred position all season," he said.

"And how Chelsea have missed him. Wearing the captain’s armband, Chilwell looked like he had never been away and sent a message to Mauricio Pochettino to give up on playing him as a winger."

Chilwell started his first game for four months as he starred on the left-hand side in Chelsea's victory over Boro.

The 27-year-old has only managed nine appearances in all competitions this season, having been blighted with injuries.

Topics: Chelsea, Cole Palmer, Ben Chilwell, Football

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar