EFL Cup Round Three
Chelsea 6 (Palmer 53’ pen, 55’, Neto 60’, Welbeck 65’, 90+4', Barco 80’)
Leeds United 3 (Muharemovic 23’, Aaronson 48’, Calvert-Lewin 75’)
Chelsea: Penders (GK), Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill (C) (Fofana 76’), Gusto (Rogers 46’), Watson (James 46’), Barco, Chavarria, Estevao (Neto 46’), Welbeck, Gittens (Palmer 46’). Subs not used: Martinez (GK), Hato, Quenda, Joao Pedro.
Leeds: Zetterer (GK), Ampadu (C), Muharemovic, James (Stach 66’), Longstaff (Tanaka 67’), Wilson, Aaronson (Okafor 67’), Nmecha (Calvert-Lewin 67’), Bijol, Justin, Bard (Gudmundsson 78'). Subs not used: Trafford (GK), Bogle, Bahoya, Elvedi.
Venue: Stamford Bridge | Referee: Jarred Gillet | Booked: Watson (Chelsea) | Attendance: 35,696
Leeds United travelled away from home in Round Three of the Carabao Cup, taking on fellow Premier League side Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Daniel Farke made eight changes to the starting line-up which had earned a point away at Brighton & Hove Albion the preceding weekend, handing debuts to Michael Zetterer and Melvin Bard in West London.
Standing in the opposite dugout, Xabi Alonso was aiming for his side to return to winning ways after suffering their first defeat of the season and made nine changes to his side.
The Blues had lost to Arsenal in the league, but prior to that had won their first three matches of the campaign under their new boss.
The teams emerged from the tunnel under the lights and the hosts had a big opportunity to take an early lead, with Estevao released into the box, but a superbly timed run and tackle from James Justin prevented him from firing on goal.
Midway through the first half, the Whites would find the opening goal of the night! A succession of set-play opportunities led to Harry Wilson whipping in an excellent corner to the back post, where Tarik Muharemovic would leap highest and head home!
On his debut, Zetterer had to be alert between the posts as the time ticked down towards half-time. Jamie Gittens had been the liveliest of the Chelsea forward line and he tricked his way into the box and powerfully struck, only to see the stopper make a strong one-handed save.
The opening 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge had lacked clear cut chances at both ends, but the one that was taken sent the Whites into their respective dressing room with the lead.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 0-1 Leeds United
Chelsea turned to their bench at the interval, looking to change things for the second half. They brought on Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Reece James. Leeds remained unchanged.
Superb work from Ethan Ampadu saw Leeds quickly double their advantage, just two minutes into the second half! The skipper won the ball high up the pitch and progressed down the right-hand-side.
Looking for support in the middle of the box, he found Lukas Nmecha with a low cross which the striker cleverly flicked backwards into the path of Brenden Aaronson, who then powerfully fired into the bottom corner for two!
From the penalty spot, Palmer reduced the deficit shortly after the second goal. A controversial spot-kick was awarded after Daniel James had been adjudged to have fouled Pep Chavarria.
In what had become a frantic 10 minutes at the start of the second half, Chelsea were then level. It was Palmer again who calmly curled home with his left-foot from the edge of the box to make it two-apiece.
On the hour mark, the substitutes had more than made their impact and the turnaround was complete. Another quick break allowed the ball to find Neto on the edge of the area and via the inside of the post, his left-foot strike found the back of the net.
Down the right, Rogers made his mark on the game by crossing low and finding Danny Welbeck in the box. He took a touch before then firing home low and getting a fourth goal for the hosts.
Looking to the bench, Farke made a quadruple substitution of his own. Anton Stach, Ao Tanaka, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all entered the action.
The changes had the desired impact as Leeds would get a third goal. Great link-up play between Okafor and Calvert-Lewin created a chance for our number 9 to find space and slot home in the area to reduce the deficit to one.
In what had been second half full of goalmouth action, Chelsea restored their two goal advantage. Again it was a low ball across the box, which was turned home at the back post for a fifth.
Despite a late push from the Whites, the clash came to a close with the hosts snatching another through Welbeck, before Jarred Gillet called time on the night and on Leeds' 2026/27 EFL Cup campaign.
FULL TIME: Chelsea 6-3 Leeds United
