December 17, (THEWILL) — Chelsea advanced to the EFL Cup semi-finals after substitute Alejandro Garnacho netted twice in a 3-1 victory over Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.
Manager Enzo Maresca made wholesale changes following Saturday’s win against Everton, fielding an entirely different starting XI for the quarter-final tie at Stamford Bridge.
The hosts struggled to impose themselves during a difficult opening period, with Benoit Badiashile sending their clearest opportunity over the crossbar.
Cardiff threatened through Isaak Davies, whose dangerous cross took a deflection off Moises Caicedo and went narrowly wide after goalkeeper Nathan Trott had earlier denied Marc Guiu.
The Championship side could not convert their promising spells into a goal before the interval.
Maresca introduced Joao Pedro and Garnacho at half-time, shifting momentum decisively in Chelsea’s favour.
The Argentine forward opened the scoring in the 57th minute after Dylan Lawlor’s error allowed Facundo Buonanotte to supply the assist, with Garnacho finishing low into the bottom-right corner.
Chelsea failed to extend their advantage despite creating opportunities, and David Turnbull punished that wastefulness by flicking Perry Ng’s cross over Filip Jorgensen after 75 minutes.
Pedro Neto restored the lead eight minutes later with a low strike across goal into the bottom-left corner, breaking Cardiff’s resistance.
Turnbull nearly equalised again when his effort cleared the crossbar, but Garnacho settled the contest in the third minute of stoppage time with another precise finish across the goalkeeper.
Chelsea will now face one of the remaining sides in the semi-final draw, having progressed through a match that required second-half substitutions to overcome determined Championship opposition.
Cardiff departed disappointed despite their battling performance and brief equaliser in west London.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
