Chelsea won back-to-back in the second round of the League Cup

Mauricio Pochettino tested the attack with new faces like Lesley Ugochukwu, Mason Burstow or Diego Moreira. But the Argentinian coach still carefully arranged the reserve pillars, including the most expensive pair of midfielders in English football history, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.

Pochettino's caution is necessary. Because after 19 minutes, Wimbledon suddenly took the lead. In a free kick arrangement of the away team, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez punched the ball but fouled Harry Pell. On the penalty spot, James Tilley deceived Sanchez to help Wimbledon shock at Stamford Bridge.

Referee Tony Harrington's decision to penalize Sanchez caused dissatisfaction with the home team. Off the touchline, Pochettino was angry and appeared to have exchanged something with Pell, who lay on the field after the collision to make sure the referee would blow the penalty.

The previous goal somewhat embarrassed Chelsea. They could not create an attack tempo enough to overwhelm their opponents. The home team's tackles showed signs of impatience and the closest they got to the equalizer was when Ian Maatsen's shot hit an away player and narrowly missed the post.

However, before the first half ended, Chelsea equalized thanks to the shining moment of Noni Madueke. The rookie who moved in from PSV this summer went boldly on the right wing before being fouled by Alex Pearce. This was a clear penalty for Chelsea and Madueke successfully took it to relieve pressure on the home team going into the break.

Pochettino proactively made a substitution at the beginning of the second half when he brought Nicolas Jackson onto the field, replacing the ineffective first-half player Moreira. Chelsea's attack quickly improved, but on the day visiting goalkeeper Alex Bass played excellently, opportunities were missed by the home team.

In the 65th minute, Fernandez entered the field and did not take long to prove his worth. Starting from Bass's mistake, when he ran outside the penalty area but cleared the ball and hit Maatsen, Fernandez calmly eliminated the Wimbledon defender and curled the ball into the empty goal at a distance of nearly 20 meters. This is the first goal Fernandez scored for Chelsea since moving to this club in January 2023.

The remainder of the second half saw Chelsea's complete dominance. However, the home team at Stamford Bridge could not score more goals. The most unfortunate thing was Madueke's comfortable shot in the penalty area, but the ball hit the position Bass had chosen. The Wimbledon goalkeeper continued to play excellently in the following situations, blocking Maatsen or Fernandez. At the end of the match, Conor Gallagher had a chance to shoot from close range but missed.

According to the draw results, Chelsea will meet Brighton in the third round of the League Cup. This weekend, Pochettino's teachers and students received Nottingham Forest in the fourth round of the English Premier League.