Laudrup fears Swansea will miss headlines
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup was overjoyed with his team's League Cup semifinal conquest of Chelsea, but feared the Eden Hazard affair will overshadow their Wembley qualification.
Belgian midfielder Hazard was sent off for kicking out at a ball boy as his team, 2-0 down from the first leg of the semifinal, sought an elusive breakthrough in the return tie which ended 0-0 in Wales.
"Well, I know it's going to take some headlines," admitted Laudrup.
"I just want to say that, first of all, a situation like that you have to try and understand what went through the head of the man committing the thing.
"I was a player and I can understand he was frustrated and you want the ball boy to give him the ball. I can understand it to a certain extent, but there are things you can never do."
Swansea will be playing in their first major final when they tackle fourth division Bradford at Wembley on February 24.
"To be in a final for the first time is absolutely fantastic. To have beaten the European champions over two games, it's really incredible, without conceding a goal," added Laudrup, who took over from Brendan Rodgers last year.
"There have been times in these two games when they have dominated, but that's what you expect players of that level to do.
"They had some good chances early in the first game, and today was more or less the same. They knew they had to score two goals, but knew as well if they pushed too far forward we could score on the break. They tried to do it. In many ways, it was a game like the first one.
"They lost the belief they could do it after the red card. Today, you could see when Hazard was sent off they were finished."
