Second-half goals from supersubs Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto gave Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca plenty to smile about, as the Blues claimed a 3-1 win away at League One leaders Cardiff City to book their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals and extend their perfect quarter-final record to six straight victories, Softfootball reports.
Chelsea arrived in Wales on the back of a dramatic 4-3 win over Wolves in the round of 16 , but Maresca's heavily rotated side struggled to carry that momentum into a flat first-half display. The Italian had described the build-up to Saturday's 2-0 league win over Everton as his "worst 48 hours" in charge , and the opening period here did little to lift the mood.
An entirely changed Chelsea XI laboured to find any real rhythm as a packed Cardiff City Stadium urged the hosts forward. Cardiff created the first real opening of the night when Isaak Davies raced onto Joel Bagan's through ball midway through the half, but the winger snatched at his effort and dragged it wide.
