Barnsley coach: '“Chelsea or Luton, It’s always a 50/50 situation'

The Tykes

booked a possible home fixture against Chelsea after taking out

pioneers Norwich on account of Callum Styles' solitary goal in the second half. 

Barnsley overturned Chelsea in 2008 on their way to the semi-finals, yet Ismael would not get energized at the possibility of a repeatition. 

“We’ll see. I’m just happy that we play at home,” the Frenchman said. “Chelsea or Luton. The

is a tight competition. It’s always a 50/50 situation.

“The good thing is tomorrow we can sit on the couch and enjoy the game.”

Norwich shot-stopper Tim Krul gave valiant efforts to keep the ball away from his goal and he did so in the first half with several saves. However, the 32-year-old goalie finally yielded in minute 55 when

Callum Styles

passed the ball into the bottom corner.

“I’m delighted he’s back from a bit of a slip (in form) the last few weeks,” Ismael said of his midfielder, who also produced a last-gasp block to keep out Emi Buendia’s shot from in front of goal.

“He played today at his level and he has to stay that way. He’s a young player with a big talent, but he has to stay at that level. This is the big thing.

“I think today was a step in the right direction for Callum.”

Barnsley's advancement towards the top of the Championship table under Ismael has been halted by small and back-to-back losses to the best three sides.

“We knew that we are near, we are close to beating a top team and now we made the next step up,” the former Bayern Munich defender added.

“I have to say it was one of the best performances because we were stable and we controlled a lot of situations and created a lot of chances.”

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