By RIATH AL-SAMARRAI, CHIEF SPORTS FEATURE WRITER
Published: 17:10 EST, 16 December 2025 | Updated: 17:15 EST, 16 December 2025
Never let it be said that Enzo Maresca is afraid of a gamble. For the second time in the space of four days we had to cause to query his appetite for self-inflicted dramas but all is well that ends well – Chelsea are through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Whether there will be much pride in the mechanisms of how they got there will depend on how one weighs the ugliness of the journey against the opportunities of the destination.
For make no mistake, Maresca took a huge risk in Cardiff, namely through the decision to change each and every component of the side deployed against Everton at the weekend. His team is young at the best of times, but he relied on kids here, and when they invited humiliation against the League One leaders, it was left to Alejandro Garnahco and Pedro Neto to step off the bench to save the evening.
But let's not underplay the scale of the scare. Cardiff controlled the first half and then fought back once Garnacho brought football's food chain into focus – his second-half opener was cancelled out by a David Turnbull diving header.
Even Neto's winner, eight minutes shy of the 90, was a mere prelude to further pressure before Garnacho wrapped up the tie in stoppage time. Fair play to Cardiff, they took their shoe-string budget and used it to throttle Chelsea before realities set in.
For Maresca, the relief will be the reward of a third cup semi-final in 18 months and an avoidance of further hard questions after he hinted at trouble behind the scenes on Saturday. Had this one got away from him, the charge of abject complacency would have been impossible to dodge.
Chelsea beat Cardiff to reach the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup after Enzo Maresca made 11 changes to his side
Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to score twice and help his side into the next round
The team selection was a neat summary for how Maresca viewed the threat level - four teenagers and an average age of 21. Whatever else we might interpret from his recent remarks about in-house irritations, the man is a gambler.
And yet it's all relative. Maresca still had Moises Caicedo in the middle and around £250million of signings in the starting ensemble. It should have been enough. Comfortably so.
MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
Cardiff (4-3-3): Trott 7; Ng 7.5 (Fish 90), Lawlor 5.5, Chambers 6.5, Bagan 7.5; Wintle 6.5, Colwill 7 (Robertson 80), Turnbull 7; Ashford 7, Robinson 6 (Salech 56, 6), Davies 6.5.
Subs not used: Turner, Giles, Mafico, Donczew, Nyakuhwa, Willock.
Booked: Davies, Chambers
Brian Barry-Murphy 7
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Jorgensen 6.5; Acheampong 5.5 (Chalobah 84), Badiashile 7, Adarabioyo 7, Hato 6.5; Santos 6, Caicedo 7; George 5 (Garnacho 46, 7.5), Buonanotte 7 (Gusto 66, 6), Gittens 5 (Neto 66, 7); Guiu 5 (Pedro 46, 6.5).
Subs not used: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Fernandez.
Booked: Caicedo
Enzo Maresca 6
Referee: Tony Harrington 7
But that wasn't the tale of the first half. Perry Ng, signed for £350,000, edged his duel with Jamie Gittens, who cost the better part of £48m, and the combination of Joel Bagan and Isaak Davies dominated Josh Acheampong on the opposite flank.
Of the Chelsea bunch, only Moises Caicedo sustained any kind of control over his jurisdiction. It was his work that made their one good chance, which Marc Guiu drilled directly at the legs of Nathan Trott, but the rest was forgettable. Disjointed. Soft.
Davies had two good chances to give Cardiff a lead, with his first effort sliced and his second deflected wide by a matter of inches. There were also decent opportunities for Turnbull and Callum Robinson, who holds the muscle memory of scoring five goals in three games against Chelsea from his Premier League days.
Omens, actions and momentum were in the home side's favour at the break - Brian Barry-Murphy had shown no deference to his former colleague. Maresca's response was a muscle flex, with Joao Pedro and Garnacho sent on for the second half.
The impact was quickly made. Within eight minutes of the restart, Garnacho forced Trott into a scrambling save after Facundo Buonanotte tore a hole in Cardiff's defence and created a strong chance. Garnacho ought to have buried it, but atoned via the same supply route a moment later, when Buonanotte capitalised on some carelessness from Dylan Lawler and played a ball into the Argentine's run. It was a good finish.
That ought to have killed the tie. Instead, further pressure followed and so did a sucker punch, administered by a stunning diving header from Turnbull from an Ng cross.
For six minutes, this place rocked. But then gravity kicked in and so did Neto, before Garnacho added a layer of gloss Chelsea didn't especially deserve.