Malo Gusto: Chelsea played 'like kids' and were 'bullied' by Lincoln in Carabao Cup third round | OneFootball

One of the Blues’ summer signings notched his first goal for the club in comeback victory

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Goals from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte helped Chelsea come from behind and progress from a cup tie they were losing at half-time, when manager Enzo Maresca shared angry words with his players in the dressing room.

“It was a lot of set pieces, long throws,” Gusto said of Lincoln’s approach. “It was a bit complicated for us to get into the game in the first few minutes.

“We knew they were going to play like this. It was their qualities, so they played with that. We were aware before of that. It was the game. The game was about duels, fighting. That’s why we tried to do more in the second half to show our desire to win, and that’s what we did.

Asked whether Maresca got angry at half-time, Gusto admitted: “Of course. In the first half we played like kids.

“They bullied us in every part of the pitch. It was really bad for us. The second half was important to come back with more desire, more confidence.”

The French international added: “As a Chelsea player, we have to show that we deserve to play for this club. We have to show to the fans that we always want to win trophies. That’s our objective. We’re going to do our best to make it.”

Nine Premier League teams have already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup ahead of the final set of third-round fixtures which take place ahead of the fourth-round draw on Wednesday night.

Asked whether Chelsea can win the competition, Gusto replied: “We are on the way to win this trophy. We want to win it, for sure. We know that last season was good for us in terms of trophies, but we want more for this season.

“Of course, we are going to do our best. Today was important to win, to get back in a good way, and in this competition to try our best to go as far as possible.”

Gusto is hopeful of Chelsea using the momentum of the Lincoln win to secure three important points in the Premier League when Brighton visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

“That’s our objective,” he said. “They are a good team too, but we know that we can compete and we can win every one — and that’s what we’re going to do.”