"Makes me so angry" - Alan Shearer tears into Middlesbrough following EFL Cup defeat by Chelsea | OneFootball

Middlesbrough suffered a humiliating result in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea, with the Blues overturning a one-goal deficit at Stamford Bridge and coming out on top by four goals.

First-half goals from Enzo Fernandez, Axel Disasi and Cole Palmer, along with a Jonny Howson own goal had put Mauricio Pochettino's men 4-0 up at the break on Tuesday evening.

Noni Madueke and Palmer added further strikes before Morgan Rogers' 88th-minute consolation. The 6-1 hammering means Chelsea will face Liverpool in the final at the end of February.

As for Boro, head coach Michael Carrick rued mistakes from his side, who saw their chances unravel in the first half at Stamford Bridge.

"The game unravelled quite quickly. It was brutal in a way and quite harsh how the game was for us," said Carrick, via Yahoo Sports.

"Six shots on target there or thereabouts and six goals is pretty brutal. I feel massively for the players, the effort and the attitude.

"We came here with hopes and in the end we got punished. A couple of mistakes and quite quickly they punished you."

Alan Shearer tears into Middlesbrough approach v Chelsea

One prominent pundit and English footballing icon who did not understand Carrick's tactics and game-plan was Alan Shearer, who has criticised what Boro did and how they set up against a dangerous side in the form of Chelsea.

Newcastle legend Shearer was far from impressed with Boro's approach and insisted sides from lower down the pyramid should be less stubborn with their tactics.

"Shall we blame Pep for this? Is this Pep's fault? I enjoy it when you're half decent at it," Shearer said on The Rest is Football Podcast.

"I get that everyone wants to play out from the back, that's the 'in' thing. As a coach, when you're going in for a job, you've got to tell the chief executive or owner that this is the way you're going to play.

"But, I watched Middlesbrough the other night and Burnley all of this season, it makes me so angry when they're trying to do it, and they're not very good at it.

"They keep getting caught and giving chances and goals away. When is the point where they say 'maybe this isn't working, maybe we should change tonight'?

"You should suddenly think, hang on, we are going in against top opposition here, who are really good at what they do. So not on every occasion do we have to play out."

Carrick should stick to his principles with Middlesbrough

Shearer does have a point.

Middlesbrough were heading to Stamford Bridge with an advantage. Defensive stability should have been at the forefront of Carrick's mind, particularly given the calibre of opposition.

When the time is right, by all means, play out from the back; not at every opportunity.

As for Boro's Championship campaign, looking to adopt a possession-based passing style seems a sensible philosophy.

With Carrick's men just three points adrift of the play-off positions, his system and tactics appear to be working well on Teesside.

Boro will be hoping to put an impressive run of form together during the second half of the campaign, as rivals Sunderland make the trip to the Riverside Stadium on February 4 and revenge will be wanted for 4-0 defeat that Carrick's side inflicted on them earlier on in the campaign.