Chelsea reaches English League Cup semifinals as subs make difference in win over 3rd-tier Cardiff

Chelsea’s substitutes made the difference Tuesday as wingers Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto scored second-half goals to secure a 3-1 win at third-tier Cardiff City and a place in the English League Cup semifinals.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca started with a largely second-string lineup for the first quarterfinal, but needed some of his first-team stars to avoid an upset in south Wales.

Garnacho was one of two attackers brought on for the start of the second half and opened the scoring in the 57th minute, delivering a low finish into the corner following a defensive mistake.

Cardiff equalized in the 75th through David Turnbull, but Neto restored the lead seven minutes later with a low, deflected shot into the corner and Garnacho grabbed his second goal of the match in stoppage time.

“Sometimes you have to start games and sometimes you have to help from the bench,” said Garnacho, who joined from Manchester United in August. “We don’t focus on this, we just try to help the team.”

Maresca said there was a “big difference" after he made his substitutions.

“Second half, much better on the ball,” the Italian said.

Chelsea reached the semifinals for the third time in five years as the team seeks a third cup triumph since Maresca arrived in the summer of 2024. It won the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup last season.

In a news conference at the weekend, Maresca said he went through the worst 48 hours of his time at Chelsea at the end of last week and expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the club, without going detail.

That came with Chelsea on a four-match winless run in all competitions, but a 2-0 victory over Everton in the Premier League has been followed by progress through to the cup semifinals.

Quarterfinal lineup

On Wednesday, Manchester City hosts Brentford and Fulham travels to defending champion Newcastle.

The quarterfinals are wrapped up next week when Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace.

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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer