Enzo Maresca dodged a bullet, as Chelsea avoided a shock Carabao Cup quarter-final loss to League One's Cardiff City thanks to three goals from two subs.

Alejandro Garnacho scored Chelsea's first and third goals, sandwiching one from Pedro Neto. David Turnbull's goal was actually the best of the night.

Chelsea now goes to Wednesday night's semi-final draw. Brian Barry-Murphy's Cardiff side, who are four points clear in their league, are probably a good pick for an end-of-season celebration. Jimmy's son is doing great in the Welsh capital.

It's unclear if Maresca's bosses feel the same about him, especially after his mysterious comments last week about a lack of backing.

But cup wins are important for Chelsea. Maresca's team had enough to win the battle between the former Manchester City Elite Development Squad managers.

Pep Guardiola's impact on both teams is clear. Cardiff has higher average possession stats in League One than the Club World Cup holders this season.

Cardiff likes to take risks, and their play-from-the-back style, like Pep's, helped Chelsea score first.

Maresca switched his whole lineup from Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Everton. This worked last season when they won the Europa Conference League.

Benoit Badiashile missed Chelsea's first chance, while Cardiff's David Turnbull forced a save from keeper Filip Jorgensen.

City's Isaak Davies was too eager and fouled Josh Acheampong, earning a yellow card. Then, after getting behind the defender on the left, his rushed shot went out.

Next, Cardiff's Calum Chambers got a yellow card before Nathan Trott made his first save around the half-hour mark from a tight angle from Marc Guiu.

BBM's team quickly responded, and Jorgensen had to stop a cross from Davies that Moises Caicedo deflected. The half ended with Caicedo getting a yellow card for sarcastically clapping the referee.

Maresca made two changes for the second half, bringing on Joao Pedro and Alejandro Garnacho for Guiu and Tyrique George. Garnacho immediately had a chance after Chambers lost the ball, but Trott saved it.

Cardiff replaced Callum Robinson and Davies with Salech and Chris Willock.

But disaster hit as Dylan Lawlor tried to play out from the back, and his pass was intercepted by Facundo Buonanotte, who set up Garnacho to score past Trott.

That gift in the 57th minute boosted Chelsea.

Joel Bagan almost scored an own goal, but Cardiff then equalised with Turnbull's diving header in the 75th minute. Perry Ng crossed from the right, and Turnbull headed it in.

The home fans cheered, but Cardiff soon needed Trott to deny Pedro from close range after City gave the ball away again.

The former West Ham keeper was unlucky when Neto won it for Chelsea in the 82nd minute with a low shot that deflected off Bagan.

Pedro then set up Garnacho to score again in added time.

After Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Everton, which put them fourth in the Premier League, Enzo Maresca said he'd had a rough couple of days.

The win at Stamford Bridge stopped a four-game winless streak. Yet, the manager criticised unnamed people for not backing him and the team. He did make clear he wasn't talking about the fans.

Cole Palmer scored, which seemed to lift the mood. However, Maresca still seemed upset, despite the win easing some pressure.

"The last two days have been tough because many people didn't support the team and me," he said. Generally speaking.

When asked if he meant the fans, he replied, I love the fans, and we're happy with them.

Maresca made this surprising statement after answering a question about Malo Gusto's performance. Gusto scored Chelsea's second goal.

Earlier, he had mentioned that winning was the only way to stop fans from complaining online. He also reflected on his 30 years in soccer, noting that people complain when you don't win.

It wasn't clear if his comments after the Everton game were aimed at online reactions or something else. However, he defended his players, who ended a tough run that included losses to Leeds and Atalanta, plus a goalless draw at Bournemouth.

The players put in a lot of effort. Reece (James) and Malo usually play as full-backs, but today they were midfielders, he said.

Their effort, willingness to learn, and open minds have been great. That's why I'm praising them. Even with several issues, they're doing well after a hard week.”

Palmer's goal was the highlight of the match. This year has been tough for Palmer, dealing with two injuries.

Wesley Fofana passed to Gusto, who then made an excellent pass. Palmer ran through the defence and scored past the goalkeeper.

"We're a better team with Cole," said Maresca. I really commend the players. We played 16 Premier League games, five without Moises Caicedo, 11 without Cole Palmer, and most without Liam Delap. Whoever plays is doing a great job.

We played almost the entire season without our best player. That's why I'm so happy for the players. I wish people on the outside could appreciate that.

Everton's boss, David Moyes, was disappointed with the loss, which ended his team's good run.

Maybe we played one of our best away games. "We've had some good results away from home," he said.

But we couldn't finish. We missed a couple of runners at times when they showed quality. We stayed close, and that's what we need to do.