Chelsea to face Cardiff City in EFL Cup quarter final | OneFootball

Chelsea have been handed a relatively straightforward EFL Cup draw, with the Blues set to face Cardiff City in the quarter-final (h/t BBC).

The Blues will take on the League One outfit, who punched their tickets to the last eight with a 2-1 win against Wrexham, at Cardiff City Stadium.

Meanwhile, Chelsea secured their place in the quarter-final following a chaotic 4-3 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium.

The final result spared Chelsea’s blushes after producing a horrific second-half performance that saw Wolves come agonisingly close to pulling off a comeback for the ages.

Chelsea already had the game won at half time – at least on paper – as goals from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George, and Estevao saw Enzo Maresca’s side head into the interval with a comfortable 3-0 lead.

However, Wolves came out for the second half firing on all cylinders, but they were egged on by Chelsea’s shambolic defending and a series of schoolboy errors.

A needless giveaway from Facundo Buonanotte in a dangerous area allowed Tolu Arokodare to pull one back for Wolves. From there, it was all systems go.

Summer signing David Moller Wolfe sent the Molineux crowd into raptures after scoring Wolves’ second, sparking hopes of a historic comeback.

Wolves were handed a further lifeline when Liam Delap was sent off just 26 minutes after marking his return from a hamstring injury that kept him out for two months.

He was handed his marching orders for two needless bookable offences just seven minutes apart.

A long-range belter from Jamie Gittens gave Chelsea some breathing space, but it only lasted a minute as Moller Wolfe scored again to make it 4-3.

The Blues managed to see off the relegation-threatened Wolves eventually, but it was a performance that left Maresca fuming.

Chelsea are hoping to go all the way and lift the EFL Cup title for the first time since 2014/15. They were a whisker away from winning it in 2023/24 but finished as runners-up.

They’ll hope they can end their decade-long wait for EFL Cup success this season, although performances like that will not help their cause.