Football Review | Lincoln City 1 - 2 Chelsea

Chelsea avoided a huge cup upset against League One Lincoln City

Teenager Tyrique George proved decisive as the world champions came from behind to beat Lincoln and reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Author | Lauren W

Stadium | LNER Stadium

Lincoln, coached by Michael Skubala, caused problems from the start. They struck the post early when Lewis Montsma’s low drive from a loose clearance rebounded off the woodwork. Their persistence was rewarded just before half-time when Rob Street took advantage of a stray pass from Enzo Fernández and scored after Ivan Varfolomeev intercepted the ball.

Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen collided with Wesley Fofana while attempting to punch clear, adding to the tension.

But under head coach Enzo Maresca, Chelsea returned from the interval with renewed energy. George’s fierce drive struck the post and went in around the 48th minute. Two minutes later, he combined with Facundo Buonanotte, who weaved through the Lincoln defence before finishing to put Chelsea ahead.

Lincoln did not give up. There were scrambles in the Chelsea box and Jorrel Hato cleared a deflection from Trevoh Chalobah. Chelsea substitutes went close to extending the lead, with Jeacock making a fine save from Estevão. In the end, Chelsea held on to progress despite a huge scare.

Should Chelsea fans be concerned about the depth in their squad?

After the match, we spoke with Chelsea fan Lewis W, who gave this in-depth analysis of the match from a supporter perspective. He told us: “After a physically and emotionally draining week that saw us follow up that draw against Brentford with defeats to Bayern Munich and Manchester United, we were largely outclassed here.

“Maresca made eight changes to his starting eleven, and were he not already without seven first-team regulars through injury and looking to end a three-game winless run, he would probably have made more.

“The players who came in both struggled to cope with Lincoln's directness or have much impact of their own, forcing us to turn to those who probably could have done with a night off.”