Chelsea and Arsenal players scuffle during the League Cup final football match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, south Wales, yesterday. Chelsea won 2-1.

CARDIFF (Reuters):

Striker Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 in a League Cup final marred by a head injury to England captain John Terry and an ugly late brawl that led to three red cards.

Arsenal's 17-year-old forward Theo Walcott opened the scoring in the 12th minute with his first goal for the club but Drogba levelled seven minutes later and then headed the winner in the 84th minute.

The match was stopped twice though in the second half, with Terry being carried off on a stretcher in a neckbrace after being accidentally kicked in the face and knocked unconscious.

Terry, who was given the all-clear atCardiff's University Hospital of Wales, returned to the stadium where he joined his teammates incelebrating the victory.

A final which had produced plenty of entertaining football was later marred by a fracas sparked by Arsenal's captain for the day, Kolo Toure, and Terry's replacement, Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Both sides were drawn into the melee, while Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger came on to the pitch to try and calm things down.

Players sent off

Toure, Mikel and Arsenal's Togo substitute Emmanuel Adebayor were all sent off as a result of the scenes, which were a far cry from the vibrant start to the game.

Despite fielding a young side with just two first-team regulars in Toure and Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal made a remarkably assured start and twice threatened to carve Chelsea's defence open before Walcott struck.

An unused member of England's World Cup squad, the teenager latched on to a forward ball from French midfielder Abou Diaby and steered his shot coolly past keeper Petr Cech.

Premier League champions for the past two seasons, Chelsea hardly flinched at the setback and were soon on level terms.

Germany captain Michael Ballack curled a clever pass over the offside trap and Drogba had time to tee up his shot before rifling the ball beneath the advancing keeper Manuel Almunia.

ADDING BITE

Mourinho, who won his first trophy as Chelsea coach in this competition in 2005, added more incision to his side by replacing French holding midfielder Claude Makelele with Dutch winger Arjen Robben for the second half.

But it was Arsenal who continued to play neat, passing football, creating a few half-chances along the way.

The action stopped when Terry stooped to head a loose ball and took the full force of Diaby's attempted clearance in a sickening clash.

Players of both sides immediately beckoned medical staff and the captain, who looked to have been knocked out cold, was eventually taken off with an oxygen mask and a neck brace.

The final re-started and eventually regained its earlier rhythm with Arsenal being driven forward by teenage midfielders Fabregas and Brazilian Denilson.

But Chelsea were dangerous too as Frank Lampard cracked a dipping shot onto the crossbar with Almunia off his line and beaten.

Drogba then settled it when he rose ahead of Philippe Senderos to meet Robben's pinpoint cross from the left with a glancing header into the bottom corner.

Injury-time brawl

Chelsea's John Terry is injured from a kick by Arsenal's Abou Diaby during the League Cup final football match at the Millennium Stadium yesterday. - Reuters photos

Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko then smashed a shot against the bar before the game turned into chaos with the injury-time brawl.

Lampard praised in-form Drogba, telling Sky Sports: "He's special, he's the best in the world at the moment.

"He does it week in, week out and on the big occasions."

Of the incident at the end he said: "I came in to try to sort it out and ended up getting involved. People might say it's disappointing, but when you play a cup final at this level...people moan about people not wanting to win this cup but that shows how much people wanted to win it."

Mourinho said: "We showed character, I don't think we played a great game.

"Arsenal played well, they have a great team and a great coach but football is about winning and the cup belongs to us.

"The pity was what happened at the end. I don't know what happened but it was not nice."