FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea had to come from behind to beat League Two side AFC Wimbledon and advance to the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Mauricio Pochettino made numerous changes to the side that beat Luton Town last Friday, but the Blues looked disjointed from the off and the Dons sought to pounce on that vulnerability.
Nevertheless, Chelsea managed to rally and take advantage of some sloppy defending to book their place in the draw for round three.
How the game unfolded
Against the odds, Wimbledon were gifted the chance to go ahead after just 17 minutes when Robert Sanchez conceded a penalty for hitting Harry Pell square in the face when trying to claim a cross. James Tilley stepped up and went straight down the middle to open the scoring.
The hosts went close to drawing level when a cut-back from Marc Cucurella was taken in stride by Ian Maatsen, with the Dutchman’s shot deflected into the side-netting by Wimbledon defender Joe Lewis.
Just before the break, Chelsea were handed a reprieve when they were awarded a penalty of their own after Alex Pearce felled the slaloming Noni Madueke. The winger sent goalkeeper Alex Bass the wrong way to level the scores.
Pochettino brought on Nicolas Jackson for debutant Diego Moreira at the start of the second half and he nearly made an immediate impact, forcing Bass into a low save with a fierce drive at the near post. Fellow substitute Enzo Fernandez was next to bring a fine save out of Bass, with the goalkeeper flying across his line to parry his top corner-bound shot to safety with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Chelsea went ahead with their next attack, with Fernandez providing the goal. Cucurella’s speculative ball into the left channel looked set to be cleared by Bass, but he instead cannoned the ball straight off of Maatsen and into the path of the Argentine midfielder, and he slotted into an empty net.
Bass was on hand to deny Chelsea a third soon after. Jackson led a swift counter attack and slotted through Madueke, who was kept out by a low save from the goalkeeper.
Captain for the night Gallagher should have made sure of the win in stoppage time when he was afforded time and space to pick his spot from around 10 yards out, but he blazed a shot right into the Matthew Harding stand.
Wimbledon came so close to grabbing an equaliser at the end of seven added minutes, but Axel Disasi managed to get a toe on Ali Al-Hamadi’s effort from close range.
With all 11 players in the opposition box, Chelsea should have added their third following Wimbledon’s final corner, with Maatsen selflessly teeing up Fernandez, but this time he dragged a shot wide.
Chelsea will now take their place in the draw for round three later on Wednesday night.
GK: Robert Sanchez – 4/10 – The complexion of the evening changed completely on the Spaniard’s inability to claim a simple cross. Was confident thereafter, at least.
RB: Bashir Humphreys – 5/10 – Contributed little in possession and zero thrust when at right-back. A little more comfortable when shifted to the centre.
CB: Axel Disasi – 5/10 – Refused to get roughed up but wasn’t too busy considering the vast possession Chelsea had.
CB: Levi Colwill – 6/10 – Kept pace with Wimbledon’s quick attackers and nullified their threat on the counter attack.
LB: Marc Cucurella – 5/10 – Chelsea struggled to build attacks with his ineffective offering of width in the first half and they nearly shut him out of the game by default in the second right until the closing stages.
CM: Lesley Ugochukwu – 6/10 – Brave in possession, dribbling his way out of trouble and spreading passes across the pitch. Worked hard but gave the ball away in daft areas on occasion.
CM: Conor Gallagher (c) – 6/10 – Chelsea’s engine, upping the tempo with his frantic energy and commitment. His limitations on the ball were glaring, nonetheless.
RM: Noni Madueke – 8/10 – A twinkle in his toes and magic in his boots. Madueke needed a top performance tonight with Chelsea set to sign a positional rival in Cole Palmer and he duly delivered.
AM: Ian Maatsen – 6/10 – The natural left-back flittered across the attacking line trying to make things tick and bring his teammates into play.
LM: Diego Moreira – 4/10 – Out of his depth on his Chelsea debut and was hooked at the break. Tried and failed to beat his man for pace early on but was swiftly shut down and didn’t try anything adventurous for the rest of the first half.
CF: Mason Burstow – 4/10 – Offered very little up top and was isolated even when Jackson came off the bench to provide more of a focal point.
Substitutes
SUB: Nicolas Jackson (46′ for Moreira) – 7/10 – Turned the tide in Chelsea’s favour with his energy and direct threat.
SUB: Enzo Fernandez (64′ for Burstow) – 8/10
SUB: Malo Gusto (64′ for Colwill) – 6/10
SUB: Moises Caicedo (81′ for Madueke) – N/A
Subs not used: Petrovic (GK), Bergstrom (GK), Silva, Chilwell, Samuels-Smith
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino – 5/10 – Chelsea nearly paid the price for their head coach being so complacent with his team selection.
GK: Alex Bass (5); RB: Isaac Ogundere (7), CB: Ryan Johnson (6), CB: Joe Lewis (6), CB: Alex Pearce (3), LB: James Tilley (6); RM: Morgan Williams (5), CM: Harry Pell (8), CM: Jimmy Ball (6), LM: Josh Neufville (6); CF: Josh Davison (5)
SUBS: Ali Al-Hamadi (6), Lee Brown (5), Aron Sasu (N/A), Omar Bugiel (N/A), Ryan McLean (N/A)
Manager: Johnnie Jackson (6)
Player of the match – Noni Madueke (Chelsea)
