'Disappointment a positive' in Chelsea loss - Street

There was delight in disappointment after League One side Lincoln City nearly upstaged world club champions Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, according to Imps goalscorer Rob Street.

It was at the end of a remarkable first-half at the LNER Stadium that Street's cool finish put the English third-tier side ahead against a Premier League outfit that they harried and hounded for 45 minutes.

Lincoln, however, failed to turn that into a memorable result after Chelsea hit back with two goals in three minutes after the break in a tie that eventually ended 2-1.

"We are a little bit frustrated, but that speaks volumes about how well we played," Street told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

"The game plan was really good from the get-go. We put them under a lot of stress and we created quite a lot of chances against the world champions.

"The fact that we are disappointed is a real positive."

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Three of the Chelsea players that started at Lincoln on Tuesday, started for them in the 3-0 victory against Champions League winners Paris St-Germain in July's Club World Cup final victory in the United States.

Among them was Blues captain and World Cup-winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

Three more of Chelsea's world-conquering side, including European Championship winning Spain international Marc Cucurella, were called on by the end of the hard-fought night in Lincolnshire.

"At the end of the day it's 11 men against 11 men on the pitch at the same time, and you know that if you put them in highly stressful positions and keep putting the ball in the box with the quality that we have from deliveries, you can stress out any team in the world," Street said.

"It was a really fun night to play."

Lincoln boss Michael Skubala described it as "one hell of special occasion" and lauded his players as "magnificent ".

Even before Street put Lincoln ahead, Lewis Montsma saw a fierce effort crash against the post for Lincoln.

"We were so good in the first half," Skubala said.

"Some would have expected them to come here and dominate the ball completely, outplay us and score five, six or seven, but I thought we were the better team in the first half.

"The tactical plan, how the lads applied it and the intensity - it had everything.

"We pressed Chelsea, and not many teams would be brave and the lads [were] brave enough to press at the right moments.

"I'm really proud, and really proud of not just the effort, but the quality that they showed and the intent we showed to try go and win that game."