TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chelsea reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after staging a remarkable second-half comeback to beat Leeds United 6-3 at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
As reported by Antara, Chelsea trailed 2-0 early in the second half and were booed off at halftime after a disjointed opening period. However, four halftime substitutions transformed the match as Cole Palmer scored twice and Pedro Neto, Danny Welbeck and Valentin Barco also found the net.
Leeds had taken the lead in the 23rd minute when Tarik Muharemovic headed in from a Harry Wilson corner. Chelsea struggled to respond despite increasing their attacking pressure, with Jamie Gittens and Mikel Merino among those who had opportunities before the break.
Xabi Alonso made four changes at halftime, bringing on Reece James, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto for Gittens, Estevao, Malo Gusto and Reggie Watson.
The changes initially failed to prevent Leeds from extending their advantage. Three minutes after the restart, Lucas Nmecha found Brenden Aaronson, who fired past Chelsea's goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
Chelsea then launched their comeback.
Chavarria was brought down by Daniel James inside the penalty area, and Palmer converted the resulting penalty to pull one goal back.
Two minutes later, Palmer struck again, curling a shot from the edge of the penalty area into the net to level the score at 2-2.
Chelsea completed the turnaround in the 64th minute. Rogers picked out Pedro Neto with a short pass, and the Portugal international fired from outside the box into the bottom-right corner.
Five minutes later, Rogers again provided the assist, this time sending a pass from the left to Welbeck, who beat two Leeds defenders before making it 4-2.
Leeds refused to surrender. Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted a cut-back from Noah Okafor in the 76th minute to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
Chelsea restored their two-goal advantage five minutes later. Zetterer parried another cut-back from Rogers, but the ball fell to Valentin Barco, who fired into the net to make it 5-3.
Welbeck completed the scoring in stoppage time with his second goal of the night, sealing a 6-3 victory and Chelsea's place in the fourth round.
Alonso Takes Responsibility for Shaky Start
The emphatic final scoreline masked a difficult first half for Chelsea, who made nine changes to their starting lineup and struggled to establish any rhythm.
According to BBC Sport, Alonso admitted afterward that he needed to take responsibility for making the game unnecessarily difficult for his players.
"I need to take my own blame and my own responsibility on the things that happen," Alonso said. "I need to be able to help them better so they are not responsible, and after you need to react and think what's better for the team."
The introduction of Palmer, Rogers, Neto and James changed the momentum of the match. Palmer scored twice, while Neto contributed a goal, and Rogers was directly involved in creating four goals from open play.
The sight of Chelsea's established players warming up at halftime helped turn the mood inside Stamford Bridge from frustration to optimism.
Alonso said the substitutions were simply "part of the game" and acknowledged that he would assess his decisions after the match.
"I know that probably I have to take the right decisions for them to show their best level, so it's something that I will analyse and learn from today," he said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
Stars Keep Hopes Alive for Fringe Players
The Carabao Cup offers major clubs an opportunity to give young and fringe players valuable playing time, but Thursday's match showed the gap between Chelsea's established stars and some of their backup options.
Welbeck, 35, was the standout among the starters, scoring twice and strengthening his case for more regular involvement.
Barco also got on the scoresheet but was involved in some of Chelsea's problems earlier in the match, while young attackers Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens were withdrawn at halftime.
Sixteen-year-old midfielder Reggie Watson, making his Chelsea debut, was also taken off at the break after receiving a yellow card.
Geovany Quenda, Chelsea's £40 million signing from Sporting, remained on the bench and did not add to his only previous substitute appearance for the club.
Alonso said he did not want to take a "cynical" view of the difference between his established players and the club's fringe options. Instead, he said he needed to make the right decisions to help those players perform at their best.
Despite the difficulties, advancing to the fourth round is significant for Chelsea.
The club have no European football this season, making the Carabao Cup one of their opportunities to compete for silverware. With a 27-man squad and a strong academy system, competitive matches are also important for keeping a large group of players involved throughout the campaign.
Ironically, Chelsea's established stars may have secured more opportunities for their fringe teammates by rescuing the club from a potentially damaging early Carabao Cup exit.
Line-ups
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Penders; Colwill, Lacroix, Acheampong; Chavarria, Barco, Watson, Gusto; Estevao, Gittens; Welbeck
Leeds United (3-4-2-1): Zetterer; Muharemovic, Bijol, Justin; Bard, Longstaff, Ampadu, James; Aaronson, Wilson; Nmecha.
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