Chelsea survive scare as they come from behind to beat Lincoln | OneFootball

Chelsea were made to work far harder than expected as they scraped through to the Carabao Cup fourth round, coming from behind to beat League One Lincoln City 2-1.

Teenager Tyrique George stole the spotlight, levelling with a crisp strike just after the break before setting up Facundo Buonanotte for the decisive goal only moments later.

Lincoln, sitting third in the third tier, caused real problems in the first half and deservedly led at the interval. Their opener came in the 42nd minute when Enzo Fernandez’s sloppy pass across his own box was cut out by Ivan Varfolomeev, who slipped the ball through for Rob Street to calmly tuck away.

The Imps had already gone close by that stage, with Lewis Montsma striking the post after Chelsea failed to deal with another long throw, while home keeper Filip Jorgensen endured a jittery night. The stand-in stopper clashed with Wesley Fofana early on and almost gifted Freddie Draper a goal when he flapped at a cross, only for team-mate Sonny Bradley to block the shot on the line.

Chelsea, disjointed and second-best for much of the first half, looked a different side once they returned from the dressing room.

Tyrique George equalised within three minutes of the restart, his low drive clipping the inside of the post, and just two minutes later he combined neatly with Facundo Buonanotte, who wriggled through challenges before finishing smartly.

The hosts kept battling, forcing Jorrel Hato into a crucial clearance when Trevoh Chalobah diverted a ball towards his own net. Goalkeeper Zach Jeacock also denied substitute Estevao late on to keep the score respectable.

In truth, Chelsea were below par, but George’s energy and composure dragged them through.