Alan Shearer believes that Tottenham Hotspur will be damaged by their 4-2 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Chelsea at Wembley.
Mauricio Pochettino's men had been hoping to achieve a double blow by not just reaching the FA Cup final, but also mentally hurting Premier League leaders Chelsea in the process as they bid to close down a four-point gap to the Blues.
But the boot was on the other foot as despite an impressive performance, Chelsea eased to a 4-2 win, breaking Spurs' hearts after they had come back to make it 2-2 by the 52nd minute.
And Shearer thinks that the manner of the defeat will leave scars on Spurs.
"Tottenham had a big chance today. There was no [Gary] Cahill, [Diego] Costa or [Eden] Hazard in the starting line-up", Shearer said on the BBC.
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"I think it will damage Spurs."
The former England captain also praised Chelsea boss Antonio Conte for plotting Spurs' downfall perfectly, while he noted that the Blues' fourth, a thunderbolt from Nemanja Matic, was simply unstoppable.
"You could have had two or three goalkeepers in goal for Matic's strike and they wouldn't have saved it.
"Conte's game plan worked perfectly. The guys he left out gave a reaction and the guy he brought in scored two goals", he added.
Chelsea will now wait and see who they will meet in the final when Arsene Wenger's Arsenal and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City collide on Sunday.
