OFF HIS PED

Neto's late goal breaks brave Bluebirds to hand Maresca’s stars a place in last four

- BOBBY VINCENT ALEJANDRO GARNACHO

ALEJANDRO GARNACHO was the two-goal hero off the bench as Chelsea survived a scare at Cardiff to reach the semifinals of the Carabao Cup.

Garnacho had given the Blues the lead early in the second-half after a dismal first 45 minutes from Enzo Maresca’s side in the Welsh capital.

The Bluebirds then looked to have sent the game towards a nerve-wracking penalty shootout when David Turnbull headed home from Perry Ng's cross to level.

But Pedro Neto's deflected strike flew into the bottom corner with eight minutes of normal time left to play to put the Premier League side back on course for victory over the League One leaders, before Garnacho completed his brace in stoppage time.

Enzo Maresca changed his entire starting lineup which beat Everton at the weekend, with Cole Palmer not even travelling as the club continued to manage his workload.