Chelsea have completed a stunning comeback win against Leeds to reach the last 16 of the League Cup.
The Blues came from 2-0 down to win 6-3, with super-subs Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Danny Welbeck all stepping up.
Leeds were by far the better team in the first half and took the lead through Tarik Muharemovic heading past Belgian Mike Penders.
They doubled their advantage just after half-time, with Brenden Aaronson getting on the end of a well-worked move and fizzing home in front of the away supporters.
Chelsea completed a stunning comeback to beat Leeds 6-3
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Their celebrations were short-lived after Dan James conceded a penalty just five minutes later for stepping on Pep Chavarria’s foot.
Palmer stepped up from 12 yards and smashed past Michael Zetterer, who, despite going the right way, could not get near the attacking midfielder’s effort.
He got his second just a couple of minutes after, passing past the German in the Leeds net with one of the Englishman’s trademark curlers into the far corner.
Chelsea continued their momentum as substitute Pedro Neto was rolled in behind by Morgan Rogers.
Danny Welbeck chipped in with two goals as the Blues scored six times in the second-half
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The Portuguese finished superbly to put the Blues into the lead.
Danny Welbeck got in on the act five minutes later with a fabulous strike, faking a pass to Palmer before smashing home.
With 25 minutes still on the clock, the game took another turn after Daniel Farke rolled the dice with his substitutes.
Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin linked up after just seven minutes on the pitch, with the Englishman firing past Penders to keep Leeds’ hopes alive.
Leeds rallied hard but could not stop the Chelsea second-half attack
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It was unfortunately short-lived for the away fans, as Valentin Barco fired home in front of the Matthew Harding Stand.
The Argentinian turned provider for the last strike of the nine-goal thriller, with his scuffed effort turned past Zetterer by Welbeck, to win the contest 6-3.
For the second time this season, the Blues have conceded three goals in one game, which will concern Xabi Alonso.
However, the Blues are scoring goals for fun, already finding the net 17 times in their first five matches.
The Blues have scored 17 times in their first five games this season
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Player of the match Palmer described things as “different” under Alonso.
“You can see I’m enjoying it. Me and Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro, the attacking players. Not to say the defenders aren’t – but it’s a lot different.
“We’ve still got a bit to go, but we’re getting results, and that’s the main thing,” he told Sky Sports.
Rogers weighed in, saying: “There’s a lot to work on and it’s early days but seeing these signs so early, it doesn’t normally happen quite this early.
“It’s exciting but we’ve still got a long way to go and a lot to achieve.”
