Holders Chelsea will meet London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in next month's League Cup final at Wembley Stadium after beating Everton 1-0 in the second leg of their semi-final at Goodison Park on Wednesday.
Chelsea, holding a 2-1 first-leg lead, wrapped up an evenly balanced tie after 69 minutes when Joe Cole scored with a brilliant strike after a long raking pass from Florent Malouda.
Forward Cole controlled the ball superbly with his first touch before firing past goalkeeper Tim Howard from 12 metres.
Earlier Nicolas Anelka hit the Everton crossbar while Joleon Lescott went close for the home side after only 10 minutes but saw a fine header scrambled away by Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.
Cech had double reason to celebrate at the end after becoming a father for the first time earlier in the day.
He also had an outstanding game and kept Everton out with a series of fine saves from, among others, Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka as Everton, battling to reach the final for the first time since 1984, pressurised the visitors defence.
But with Ricardo Carvalho also playing superbly at the back, Chelsea held firm and gradually took control of the game.
Cole told Sky Sports: "It's great to be in with a chance of winning the trophy. They [Everton] are a top side and always give us a great game. After losing semi-finals at Liverpool before, it will be a nice flight home tonight."
Chelsea coach Avram Grant added: "It was a big test of character for us, a big challenge but we played well. I am looking forward to the final. Any chance of winning a trophy we'll take."
FIRST SEASON
Israeli Grant, who took over from Jose Mourinho in September, has now led Chelsea to a major final in his first season in charge as has Spurs' Spanish coach Juande Ramos.
Ramos, who took over from Martin Jol in October, saw his team reach Wembley on Tuesday when they ended an eight-year winless streak against arch-rivals Arsenal, thumping them 5-1 at White Hart Lane to earn a 6-2 aggregate triumph.
While Chelsea will be in the final for the third time in four seasons, Spurs have reached their first final since 2002 when they lost to Blackburn Rovers in Cardiff.
Chelsea have won the trophy four times in 1965, 1998, 2005 and last year when they also won the FA Cup. Spurs victories came in 1971, 1973 and 1999.
The only other occasion Chelsea and Tottenham have met in a major final was in 1967 when Spurs won 2-1 in the first all-London FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
They were due to meet at White Hart Lane in a Premier League match on February 23 but instead will face each other in the first League Cup final at the new Wembley the following day.
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