Chelsea beat Leeds in nine-goal Carabao Cup thriller
Chelsea scored four times in the space of 12 second-half minutes as they came back from two down to win a nine-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge and secure a place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Blues manager Xavi Alonso made four substitutions at half-time in response to a disappointing first half.
Two goals each from Cole Palmer and Danny Welbeck, with further efforts from Pedro Neto and Valentin Barco, eventually sunk Leeds.
The visitors went ahead in the 23rd minute. Tarik Mulharemovic was unmarked and on hand at the far post to head Harry Wilson’s corner back across goal and into the net.
The game burst into action at the start of the second half.
Daniel Farke’s side doubled their lead in the 57th minute. Brenden Aaronson slotted the ball into the net from 12 yards out as the Blues failed to clear a low cross from the right.
A couple of minutes later, Chelsea took a penalty lifeline when Leeds’ Daniel James was adjudged to have fouled Pep Chavarria. Palmer confidently converted the spot-kick.
Palmer levelled the tie on 54 minutes, finding the corner of the net with a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, via a Welbeck assist.
Chelsea, full of confidence, made it 3-2 on the hour.
Driving forward from midfield, Palmer and Morgan Rogers combined to set up Neto, who swept the ball home.
Welbeck added a fourth goal for the Blues on 65 minutes, with Rogers involved again.
The substitute raced down the right flank before pulling the ball back for Welbeck – the striker took a couple of touches before drilling the ball low under keeper Michael Zetterer.
Leeds pulled a goal back when Dominic Calvert-Lewin finished off a fine move, the forward bursting into the penalty area to stab home a cross by Noah Okafor.
Five minutes later, Barco fired the ball past Zetterer at the far post to make it 5-2.
And completing the dramatic turnaround, Welbeck deflected a header from Barco’s shot into the Leeds net for Chelsea’s sixth.
Chelsea: Penders, Gusto (Rogers 46), Colwill (Fofana 75), Lacroix, Acheampong, Chavarria, Estevao (Neto 46), Watson (James 46), Barco, Gittens (Palmer 46), Welbeck
Subs not used: Martinez, Pedro, Hato, Quenda
