SUB-ZERO: ALEJANDRO GARNACHO AND NETO RESCUE MARESCA FROM LEAGUE ONE EMBARRASSMENT
Chelsea needed two goals from Alejandro Garnacho and one from Pedro Neto off the bench to narrowly defeat League One leaders Cardiff City 3-1.
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.
XAVI OPENLY DECLARES INTEREST IN CHELSEA JOB DURING PERMANENT MANAGER SEARCH
With Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola on the shortlist, explore why Xavi Hernández wants to take over the Chelsea hotseat next.
Xavi has openly said he’d love to manage Chelsea, and now the Blues are hunting for someone to replace Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior got the sack last month after a rough patch just three months into his huge contract that was supposed to last six and a half years. Calum McFarlane is filling in as interim head coach until season’s end, but Chelsea are actively looking for a permanent boss for the 2026/27 campaign.
They're considering some big names. Xabi Alonso’s been mentioned; he’s been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in January. Andoni Iraola, who’s about to leave Bournemouth, is also on the shortlist.
Cesc Fabregas has been linked after his strong run at Como, and Frank Lampard’s in the mix too, fresh off winning the Championship with Coventry and securing promotion.
But Xavi really stands out. He’s already made it clear he’s interested in the Chelsea job. Back in 2019, before his Barcelona return, he said, “I don’t hide it; my goal is to come back to Europe and to Barca. It's my challenge, but I’m enjoying this current project. For me, training a team in Barcelona would be a privilege, the biggest privilege.”
He didn’t just talk about Spain either. “Honestly, who doesn’t love the Premier League? The atmosphere, packed stadiums, everyone says it’s incredible,” Xavi admitted. “If I had to pick, I’d go for a big team: City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal, or Tottenham. Klopp, Pochettino, and Unai Emery are doing amazing work there.”
After returning to Barcelona in 2021, Xavi led them to a La Liga title and the Supercopa de España before Hansi Flick took over in 2024. He’s been out of work since.
Now, Chelsea seems seriously interested in the Spaniard. According to The i, the club wants someone who can embed a strong football identity across their teams, something Enzo Maresca started.
Getting Xavi won’t be easy, though. Morocco’s national team reportedly sees him as a top candidate to replace Walid Regragui, and Manchester United is eyeing him too as they weigh options beyond Michael Carrick.
Meanwhile, Xabi Alonso is the bookmakers’ favourite for the Chelsea role, but word is he’d want more control over club decisions if he moves to west London.
COLE PALMER MISSES PENALTY AS CHELSEA SUFFER HISTORIC SIXTH CONSECUTIVE LEAGUE DEFEAT
Chelsea matched a 1912 record with their 6th straight loss, falling 3-1 to Forest as Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice at the Bridge.
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Chelsea hit rock bottom again, losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge. That’s six Premier League defeats in a row now, something the club hadn’t seen since 1912. Just when you thought the season couldn’t get any worse, Forest showed up with a makeshift lineup and absolutely stunned them. Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice, one barely a minute into the match, and then Igor Jesus put away a penalty, and suddenly Forest was six points clear of the drop zone.
Chelsea hadn’t scored in five games, and it looked like that streak would go on forever. Then, in stoppage time, Joao Pedro finally managed an overhead kick to break the drought. That run was made even more ridiculous earlier when Cole Palmer missed a first-half penalty. Matz Sels, Forest’s backup goalkeeper, saved it.
Honestly, the crowd in the Shed End probably barely recognised their own team. Pereira swapped in seven new outfield players, most of them with almost no league experience; he was clearly thinking about the upcoming Europa League semi-final. But it looked like Chelsea was the stranger out there.
Things only got worse for interim head coach Calum McFarlane. He lost Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho to late injuries, so 18-year-old Jesse Derry had to make his Premier League debut. Then, late in the first half, Derry collided heads with Forest’s Zach Abbott and had to be stretchered off after getting oxygen. It was brutal to watch.
The match itself? Chaos. Less than two minutes in, Chelsea messed up their own throw-in and let Forest stroll through midfield. Dilane Bakwa beat Marc Cucurella with little effort and crossed to Awoniyi, who was completely unmarked and headed it in.
Fifteen minutes later, Chelsea conceded again. Bakwa whipped in another cross; Malo Gusto pulled Awoniyi’s shirt, and VAR handed Forest a penalty. Jesus hammered it right down the middle.
The first half was hopeless, and by the end, serious concern set in after that nasty head clash between Derry and Abbott. Abbott, playing just his second league game, left on his own, but Derry needed serious treatment and was stretchered off.
After a nearly ten-minute stoppage, Palmer’s penalty was stopped by Sels. At halftime, Levi Colwill returned from a major injury he hadn’t played since tearing his ACL in August. He tried to restore order, but nothing changed.
Forest’s third goal came just seven minutes into the second half. Gibbs-White crossed, and Awoniyi tapped in from close range, just managing to stay onside. Chelsea’s keeper, Robert Sanchez, took a knock and left with a bandaged head after colliding with Gibbs-White.
Pedro’s late goal barely counted for anything. The few Chelsea fans left in the stadium cheered, but it was more out of irony than joy.
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