Chelsea beat Leeds in nine-goal thriller to reach last 16 of Carabao Cup

· Mirror

CHELSEA 6-3 LEEDS: The Blues staged a remarkable second-half comeback after being 2-0 down to blow Daniel Farke's side away at Stamford Bridge

Xabi Alonso never won the League Cup as a player, so the Chelsea manager went to extreme lengths to take a step closer to Wembley Stadium.

With the Blues trailing at half-time, the Spaniard made FOUR substitutions at the break and saw his side go goal crazy as they hit six after the break including braces for Cole Palmer and Danny Welbeck.

But it was Leeds who dominated the opening period. Shortly before the half-hour mark, Tarik Muharemovic broke the deadlock, latching onto a delightfully weighted cross by Harry Wilson. Mike Penders had made a couple of good reflex saves from the corners preceding the opener, but the Leeds defender finally found the net at the third time of asking when he leapt above Malo Gusto at the back post.

Alonso had seen enough, bringing on Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Reece James, and Pedro Neto at half-time to save the day, or so the Chelsea manager thought.

Brenden Aaronson doubled Leeds’ advantage shortly after the break, smashing the ball past Penders from close range. Chelsea leapt out of the gates after the second restart, winning a penalty just a few moments later following a foul on Pep Chavarria inside the box.

Palmer halved the deficit from 12 yards, and suddenly the tide turned at Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea talisman beat Michael Zetterer again, this time curling the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from just outside the box without breaking a sweat.

Leeds collapsed, and inside a quarter of an hour of going 2-0 up, they trailed, conceding a third goal in just seven minutes when Pedro Neto etched his name on the scoresheet.

Having clearly learned a trick or two from Ezri Konsa at the weekend, Rogers dived into a tackle to feed the Chelsea winger, who, without taking a touch, bent the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, just like Palmer had earlier.

Then, it was Welbeck’s turn to get on the scoresheet, giving the Blues a little more breathing space. Rogers picked out the Chelsea striker, who opened a corridor of space with his first touch and tucked the ball beneath Zetterer with his second.

Leeds didn’t go down without a fight, though, and two second-half substitutes combined to narrow the Blues’ lead, with Noah Okafor picking out Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the penalty spot.

Valentin Barco quickly put any hope of a comeback to bed, restoring Chelsea’s two-goal advantage with a lovely strike, before Welbeck headed his second at the death.

Chelsea have now won 21 of their last 23 League Cup ties.

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