Lincoln City 1-2 Chelsea: George & Buonanotte seal progress after Carabao Cup scare | OneFootball

Chelsea booked their spot in the Carabao Cup fourth round after knocking out League One side Lincoln City.

Enzo Maresca's side overcame a first half scare to claim a 2-1 win on Tuesday night at the LNER Stadium, thanks to goals from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte.

George and Buonanotte netted in the first five minutes of the second half to cancel out Rob Street's opener for Lincoln in the 43rd minute.

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Lincoln made a fast start against a shaky, heavily changed Chelsea side. Less than two minutes played, a long throw-in resulted in Lewis Montsma finding space in the box and firing a shot goalwards, but the post saved the Blues from early despair.

After a difficult opening 15 minutes, Chelsea grew into the game and Jamie Gittens almost opened the scoring. Enzo Fernandez clipped a ball in behind the Lincoln defence, but Gittens was unable to keep his effort down and on target.

Chelsea continued to show signs of nervousness as the hosts piled pressure on the Blues' goal. Filip Jorgensen failed to punch an aerial ball away, but fortunately for the visitors they managed to avert the danger to avoid embarrassment.

After all their pressure, it was Lincoln who took a deserved lead three minutes before half-time. Chelsea attempted to play out from the edge of their own box, but Fernandez's pass towards Trevoh Chalobah was dispossessed, and it was Rob Street who made no mistake to convert past Jorgensen.

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After a poor first 45, Chelsea levelled the tie within three minutes of the second half with a stunning strike from Tyrique George. The ball ricocheted to the 19-year-old and he drove it from distance into the far corner off the post.

It must have been a strong team talk from Maresca at the interval as Chelsea turned the tie around two minutes later to take the lead for the first time. Loanee Facundo Buonanotte played a one-two with George, who turned from goalscorer to provider, and netted his first goal for the club after poking past Zach Jeacock from close range.

Maresca made his first change of the evening just before the hour mark, bringing on Estevao Willian for Alejandro Garnacho, who was a target for Lincoln throughout proceedings.

Further changes were made with 20 minutes to go as Lincoln searched for an equaliser. Marc Cucurella, Pedro Neto and Shim Mheuka replaced Fernandez, Gittens and goalscorer George.

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Jeacock ensured Buonanotte didn't bag his second of the game with a fine save in the final 10 minutes from close range.

Maresca's Blues managed to see the cup tie out to confirm their place in the fourth round. The Chelsea head coach warned pre-match it could be a difficult night, and they were proven right.

It was a much-improved second half display from the visitors, although it couldn't have been much worse than the opening 45.

Lincoln put in a performance they can walk away proud of, but Chelsea's quality and five minute spell ensured their three-game winless streak was put to an end.

Chelsea will return to Carabao Cup action at the end of October and they will find out their opponents in Wednesday night's draw. For now, job done and the focus switches to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.