Cardiff City 1-3 Chelsea: Highlights, man of the match, stats as Blues book EFL Cup semi-final spot

Chelsea scraped past Cardiff City with a 3-1 win in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, booking their place in the semi-final.

A heavily rotated Chelsea side failed to hit the ground running in the first half, producing a slow and ponderous performance that saw Cardiff City comfortably defend their goal and even create chances of their own, but neither side were able to break the deadlock as the score remained level into the break.

Half-time substitute Alejandro Garnacho made an immediate impact after the restart, scoring the opener just before the hour, but Cardiff City quickly responded as David Turnbull excellently headed into the top corner with just 15 minutes remaining.

However, Cardiff were not level for long, with Pedro Neto restoring Chelsea's lead just minutes later before Garnacho scored his second in stoppage time to seal the 3-1 victory and their place in the EFL Cup semi-finals.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

Enzo Maresca made 11 changes to the team that started against Everton at the weekend, and it certainly had an effect on their performance, with Chelsea extremely underwhelming given the expectations against a League One opposition.

A real lack of urgency appeared to be on show from the Blues in the opening 45 minutes, with Cardiff City able to comfortably defend against most of Chelsea's attacks due to the lack of intensity in the visitors' play, while the Bluebirds were also able to create numerous chances of their own.

Chelsea's main attacking threat often came from Cardiff City errors, with the Bluebirds insistent on playing out from the back, which gave the visitors the chance to steal the ball and quickly counter forward on numerous occasions - and that was evident once again in the opening goal of the game.

A poor Dylan Lawlor pass was directed straight to Facundo Buonanotte, who had failed to impress in the first half but managed to slip the ball into Garnacho, who was one of the half-time reinforcements, and the Argentinian winger excellently converted.

Chelsea, who had increased the intensity in the opening minutes of the second period, quickly returned to the levels shown in the first half, and that allowed Cardiff City to regain belief and start pushing forward in search of an equaliser - which they eventually found thanks to Turnbull's stunning header.

While Cardiff and Brian Barry-Murphy would have been disappointed with the nature of conceding the opening goal, as well as eventually conceding a quality winner from Neto and late goal to seal the win by Garnacho, they can certainly take pride from an admirable performance against a top Premier League side.

The insistence on playing out from the back may have been their downfall in the first goal, but Cardiff did also get plenty of joy from slowly building forward with long passing moves, including in the build-up to Turnbull's header.

However, Chelsea's quality, demonstrated by Garnacho and Neto's imapct, did eventually prevail as they moved into the semi-finals, but Cardiff still have plenty to to be proud of from today's performance, while there will be significant concerns for Maresca in spite of the win.

CARDIFF CITY VS. CHELSEA HIGHLIGHTS

Alejandro Garnacho goal vs. Cardiff City (57th min, Cardiff City 0-1 Chelsea)

"This is a gift, an absolute present"

Alejandro Garnacho scores after Dylan Lawlor's misplaced pass ? pic.twitter.com/INpkhA1jwq
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 16, 2025

Chelsea finally have the lead! Substitute Garnacho with the opening goal!

Dylan Lawlor's attempted pass into midfield is intercepted by Facundo Buonanotte, who drives forwards and plays the ball into the path of Garnacho inside the area.

Garnacho races onto the pass and side-foots a first-time effort past the goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner with his weaker left foot.

David Turnbull goal vs. Chelsea (75th min, Cardiff City 1-1 Chelsea)

David Turnbull's header has brought Cardiff level against Chelsea ? pic.twitter.com/iweAnzbEav
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 16, 2025

Cardiff City are level! Unbelievable header from Turnbull!

Cardiff work the ball out wide to Perry Ng on the right wing, and the defender cuts onto his left foot and curls a cross into the penalty area.

Ng's delivery perfectly finds the run of Turnbull, who stoops to make contact with the header and sends the ball flying into the top-right corner.

Pedro Neto goal vs. Cardiff City (82nd min, Cardiff City 1-2 Chelsea)

Pedro Neto has scored and restored Chelsea's lead ? pic.twitter.com/WgEiKd61sl
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 16, 2025

Neto restores Chelsea's lead!

A pass is fired into Joao Pedro inside the penalty area, and the striker lays it off to Andrey Santos, who cleverly spins and passes to Neto.

Neto fires a first-time strike with his right foot, and the ball takes a slight deflection off Joel Bagan, sending the ball spinning into the far corner.

Alejandro Garnacho goal vs. Cardiff City (93rd min, Cardiff City 1-3 Chelsea)

Alejandro Garnacho gets his brace and seemingly secures Chelsea's place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals ? pic.twitter.com/Kcq0c12dcU
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) December 16, 2025

Garnacho has a brace and surely seals the win!

Pedro flicks the ball over the top of the Cardiff City defence for Garnacho to run onto, and the winger brings the ball down inside the penalty area.

Garnacho angles to strike with his right foot and curls his effort around the goalkeeper and into the far corner.

MAN OF THE MATCH - MOISES CAICEDO

One of Maresca's 11 changes brought Caicedo back into the team, with the midfielder having been suspended for recent Premier League matches, and he certainly demonstrated his quality in spite of Chelsea's struggles.

Caicedo was a level above everyone on the pitch tonight, including his own teammates, with the defensive midfielder even proving to often be their biggest attacking and creative threat.

No player created more than his four chances in tonight's match, and Caicedo also demonstrated his usual defensive brilliance, with nine defensive contributions in the 90 minutes.