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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.

Sub-Zero: Alejandro Garnacho and Neto Rescue Maresca from League One Embarrassment
Garnacho's Double Sinks Brave Cardiff in Cup Thriller

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.

WHY WAS COLE PALMER SUBBED? THE REAL REASON BEHIND THE STAMFORD BRIDGE BOOS

Fans booed as Cole Palmer was subbed in Chelsea's draw with Bournemouth. Learn why Maresca was absent and what’s next for the Blues.

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Managing Cole Palmer’s return

After Chelsea's 2-2 tie with Bournemouth, assistant coach Willy Caballero defended the choice to sub off Cole Palmer, even though fans at Stamford Bridge were angry about Enzo Maresca's move.

Fans booed, yelling, You don't know what you're doing! when Palmer—who'd been one of the team's better players—was taken out in the 63rd minute. The home team was trying to score and break their bad Premier League streak at the time.

Chelsea has only won one of their last seven league games. Caballero said afterward that head coach Enzo Maresca, who wasn't there for the post-game interviews due to illness, is still a role model for everyone at the club.

Still, the pressure is on the coach after yet another result slipped away. Chelsea has now lost 13 points at home from winning positions.

The mood got especially sour when Palmer, who just came back from an injury, was taken off in the second half.

Every fan wants the best players on the field, Caballero said. We do, too. But Cole is coming back from a long injury. So we have to figure out the best substitutions to win the game while also keeping our players healthy. We need them for the entire season.

Caballero said about Maresca's absence, "He hasn't been feeling well for the past two days." He had a fever two days ago. He did the last two practices because he wanted to get the team ready. But after the game, he went to the locker room and asked me to fill in because he wasn't feeling well.

He's handling it well and is very professional. He puts in a lot of hours every day, even when he wasn't feeling well the last two days. He loves to train and coach. He's a role model for me and the rest of the staff.

Bournemouth took the lead after six minutes when David Brooks scored on his second try after Robert Sanchez made a save. Then, Palmer scored a penalty to tie the game for Chelsea.

Next, Enzo Fernandez put the home team ahead, but the Blues couldn't hold on to their lead again. Justin Kluivert tied the score before halftime after Chelsea failed to handle a long throw-in from Antoine Semenyo.

There's been a lot of talk that this would be Semenyo's last game for Bournemouth before he moves to Manchester City soon. Before leaving the field, he seemed to say goodbye to the fans who had traveled to see the game.

Still, head coach Andoni Iraola was sure he'd play against Arsenal on Saturday.

It's not his last game here with us, he said. I can't say for sure, but I think he'll play.

He needs to rest. We've played two tough games in three days. We have Arsenal at home, so we're getting ready for another one, a tough game against the leaders. He's going to be important for us.

BREAKING: ENZO MARESCA SKIPS MEDIA AS CHELSEA CRISIS DEEPENS! GET THE HEALTH UPDATE

Enzo Maresca missed the post-match media due to a fever after Chelsea's 2-2 draw. Willy Caballero provides an urgent update on his health.

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Chelsea's winless run continues as Maresca falls ill

Enzo Maresca skipped media interviews after Chelsea's 2-2 tie with Bournemouth because he was sick.

The Blues coach was supposed to chat after his team snagged a point against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

But right before he was about to talk about the game, news dropped that Maresca wasn't feeling good.

So, his assistant, Willy Caballero, stepped in to handle things in west London.

Caballero shared an update on Maresca: He's been under the weather for a couple of days, Caballero said. He had a fever two days ago.

After the game, he went to the locker room and asked me to fill in for him since he wasn't feeling well.

Caballero was asked if he'd be in charge against Manchester City on Sunday, like he was against Villa during Maresca's suspension.

"I'm not sure," he said. I just want Enzo to get better. I think he'll be fine in a day or two.

The draw with Bournemouth means Chelsea has only won one of their last seven Premier League games.

Fans were clearly annoyed during the second half when Cole Palmer was subbed out for Joao Pedro.

Palmer just got back to playing regularly after a groin injury, but some Chelsea fans wondered why he was taken out.

About the boos, Caballero said, "Of course, every fan wants their best players on the field, and so do we."

But Cole is coming off a long injury, so we have to figure out the right subs for the game and also look out for our players since we didn't have him for a while.

Chelsea and Bournemouth had a boring 0-0 draw in their previous match earlier in the month.

But the game at Stamford Bridge was totally different, with Bournemouth taking the lead early on through David Brooks.

Palmer leveled the score with a penalty, and then Enzo Fernandez blasted a shot into the top corner to put Chelsea ahead.

But Chelsea failed to defend a long throw for the second time, allowing Justin Kluivert to score for Bournemouth.

After playing City, Chelsea will face their west London rivals Fulham before an FA Cup game away against Charlton Athletic.

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