A spirited Cardiff City side fell just short of a historic upset as two late goals saw Chelsea secure their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Despite a heroic performance from goalkeeper Nathan Trott, the Premier League giants' quality eventually told in a pulsating second half at the Cardiff City Stadium.
After a goalless first half, the deadlock was finally broken in the 57th minute. Facundo Buonanotte, who had earlier seen Trott deny Alejandro Garnacho with a superb save, intercepted a Dylan Lawlor pass inside the Cardiff half to spark a swift counter-attack. The midfielder slid the ball through to Garnacho, who made no mistake with a clinical finish from close range.
Chelsea looked to turn the screw immediately, with Trott forced into a fingertip save to deny Buonanotte before the keeper showed brave anticipation to tackle Garnacho inside the box just as the winger looked set to score a second.
The roof nearly came off the stadium in the 75th minute when the League One leaders found a dramatic equalizer. Salech delivered an inviting in-swinging cross from the right wing, allowing David Turnbull to ghost past the Chelsea backline and power a superb header past Filip Jørgensen to make it 1-1.
Cardiff almost undid their hard work minutes later when Pedro Neto intercepted a loose pass. Neto found João Pedro, but Trott once again came to the rescue, diving at the forward's feet to make a crucial block. The Bermudian international required treatment from physios following the collision but was able to continue.
The resistance was finally broken in the 83rd minute. A sweeping Chelsea move involving João Pedro and Andrey Santos found Neto, whose first-time effort took a cruel deflection that left Trott helpless as the ball settled in the bottom corner.
With Cardiff committing bodies forward in search of another equalizer, Chelsea put the result beyond doubt four minutes into stoppage time. João Pedro dinked a clever ball over a tiring home defense for Garnacho to chase, and the winger finished expertly into the far corner to seal Chelsea’s progression.
|
