Second-half goals from supersubs Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto gave Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca plenty to smile about, as the Blues claimed a 3-1 win away at League One leaders Cardiff City to book their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and extend their perfect quarter-final record to six straight victories, Softfootball reports.
Chelsea arrived in Wales on the back of a dramatic 4-3 win over Wolves in the round of 16, but Maresca’s heavily rotated side struggled to carry that momentum into a flat first-half display. The Italian had described the build-up to Saturday’s 2-0 league win over Everton as his “worst 48 hours” in charge, and the opening period here did little to lift the mood.
An entirely changed Chelsea XI laboured to find any real rhythm as a packed Cardiff City Stadium urged the hosts forward. Cardiff created the first real opening of the night when Isaak Davies raced onto Joel Bagan’s through ball midway through the half, but the winger snatched at his effort and dragged it wide.
The contrast in resources was stark Cardiff fielded five academy graduates, while Chelsea’s midfield anchor Moisés Caicedo alone cost £115m. Still, quality was in short supply. Caicedo did show his class with a perfectly weighted pass to release Marc Guiu on the half-hour mark, though Nathan Trott stood firm to block at the near post. At the other end, Filip Jörgensen had to be alert to push Davies’ deflected cross onto the post, ensuring the sides went in level at the break.
Maresca wasted no time in turning to his bench, introducing João Pedro and Garnacho at half-time, and the change paid off. Just 12 minutes after the restart, Garnacho broke the deadlock after Facundo Buonanotte intercepted a loose pass and teed up the Argentine to curl a composed finish into the far corner.
Chelsea looked more assured from there, but Cardiff refused to roll over. Trott produced a fine save to deny Buonanotte’s long-range effort, and the hosts were rewarded for their persistence with 15 minutes remaining. David Turnbull timed his run perfectly to meet Perry Ng’s cross and head home his first goal in over a year, sparking belief among the home support.
That belief didn’t last long. With seven minutes left, Chelsea restored their lead in slightly fortunate fashion as Pedro Neto’s low effort deflected off Bagan and wrong-footed Trott, making the Portuguese winger Chelsea’s outright top scorer this season with six goals. Garnacho then struck again deep into stoppage time to put the result beyond doubt.
After the game ended, Chelsea via its official X handle, shared a post match reaction showing that the players and the manager Enzo marseca celebrate their qualification to the the semifinals of the EFL Cup. They posted:
In the end, Chelsea’s quality off the bench proved decisive, allowing them to avoid a potential cup upset and eliminate the competition’s last remaining non-Premier League side as their Carabao Cup run continues.
