Where’s the fun in doing it the easy way? Chelsea remain chaotic and this almost went down as Xabi Alonso’s first misjudgment since taking over. The Carabao Cup matters for Chelsea given their lack of European football, but Alonso rotated too much and escaped it after a quadruple half-time substitution got his team out of a bind.
Leeds appeared to be going through after going 2-0 up thanks to goals from Tarik Muharemovic and Brenden Aaronson. Instead they exited in the third round for the 14th time in 18 years after Alonso’s changes paid off. Cole Palmer was inspirational alongside Morgan Rogers and Pedro Neto as Chelsea scored four times in 12 minutes before winning 6-3.
Related: Chelsea 6-3 Leeds; Liverpool 2-1 Atlético Madrid, PSG 6-1 Slovan Bratislava – live
Alonso gambled. Chelsea do not have a taxing schedule but they experimented by making nine changes after losing to Arsenal, struggled to build their patterns during the early stages and were in trouble when Leeds went ahead in the 23rd minute.
In fairness Daniel Farke also took the opportunity to look at his squad players. Leeds made eight changes but playing with greater cohesiveness and commitment gave them the edge during the first half. Chelsea, playing in random bursts, struggled with the intensity and were easily rattled. Reggie Watson, son of Wigan Athletic’s FA Cup hero Ben Watson, made his debut alongside Valentín Barco in midfield at the age of 16 and at least tried to stand up to Leeds.
The rest were disappointing. Jamie Gittens and Estêvão Willian started as the two No 10s but looked rusty at first. Pep Chavarría, starting at left wing-back, had his hands full with Daniel James and Leeds found a way through after subjecting Chelsea to a spell of pressure from set pieces.
West Bromwich Albion held on for a memorable 1-0 victory over Derby at Pride Park, after playing for more than an hour with 10 men. Aune Heggebø's early goal proved enough to take the Baggies top of the table, despite Brayann Pereira being dismissed on his debut after collecting two first-half yellow cards.
Derby had started the stronger, but West Brom swept downfield to score in the 16th minute, Jimmy-Jay Morgan whipping in a low cross from the left which Heggebø [pictured] finished at the near post. The visitors were rocked by the dismissal of Pereira in the 34th minute, as he was shown a second yellow card for a clumsy challenge on Charlie Taylor.
The hosts went close just before half-time when David Ozoh flashed a low ball across the six-yard box with no white shirt able to turn it in. Derby should have levelled in the 68th minute but Lars-Jørgen Salvesen headed over from Joe Ward’s cross. Late on, Nat Phillips made a great clearance after a late goalmouth scramble, summing up a performance full of grit and resolve.
James Morrison's side move above West Ham to top the Championship table with 13 points from six games. Either Charlton or QPR could have joined them on 13 points, but the sides played out a stalemate at the Valley. Derby, meanwhile, slipped into the bottom three with their fourth defeat in six games.
Norwich moved up to ninth in the table as they edged past visitors Birmingham 2-1 to make it three wins in four league games. Oscar Schwartau's screamer opened the scoring, the young Dane lashing an unstoppable right-footed drive past James Beadle from 25 yards out.
Papa Diallo's first goal for the Canaries doubled their advantage before the break, as the Senegal winger sidefooted home from Andre Brooks' cross. Carlos Vicente pulled a goal back for the visitors, but wasted a glorious chance to equalise near the end as Chris Davies’ men suffered their first league defeat this season. Press Association
It started when a long throw led to Mike Penders making a cracking double save from Aaronson and Muharemovic. Chelsea wobbled and Penders was less convincing when dealing with the subsequent corner from Harry Wilson. The goalkeeper’s weak punch went behind and Wilson made the most of being given another chance to deliver a dead ball by aiming for the far post, where Muharemovic rose to direct an unchallenged header into the opposite corner.
Deservedly ahead, Leeds sought to build on the Bosnia and Herzegovina defender’s first goal since joining from Sassuolo. They set a brisk tempo and Sean Longstaff went close to making it 2-0, but Chelsea stirred before half-time. Gittens ended a bright run by forcing Michael Zetterer to save at his near post and Leeds were also worried by a mazy dribble from Estêvão, who was unable to find Danny Welbeck in the middle.
The worry for Leeds is they should have been more than one up. Alonso had options on the bench and moved early. Estêvão and Gittens were hauled off for Palmer and Rogers, Neto replaced Malo Gusto at right wing-back and the decision to bring Reece James on for Watson, who was on a booking after cleaning out Wilson, was recognition that Chelsea were being overrun in midfield.
Leeds responded to the introduction of the big guns three minutes into the second half. Barco lost possession on the right, Ethan Ampadu cut the ball back after storming past Rogers and Lukas Nmecha’s clever flick teed Aaronson up to beat Penders from close range.
Yet Chelsea had time. The mood changed when Jarred Gillett, a referee who always seems to be guessing, awarded a penalty after a soft challenge by James on Chavarría. Palmer converted and with only 53 minutes on the clock it seemed Leeds would have their work cut out defending their lead.
The comeback felt inevitable. There was a feral energy to Chelsea. Palmer, untouchable, took centre stage. He equalised two minutes after his first goal, making it look easy as he rolled on to a lay-off from Rogers and used the inside of his left foot to stroke a casual shot past Zetterer from 20 yards.
Chelsea led five minutes later, Palmer involved again before Neto finished well. Leeds were then readying changes when Welbeck turned and made it 4-2. Leeds had hope when the substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled a goal back. Barco soon stamped it out, driving home after excellent work from Rogers. The sixth went in when Welbeck diverted Barco’s mis-hit shot past Zetterer.
