Cole Palmer leads cavalry charge to avoid embarrassment on night of Carabao Cup mayhem: Chelsea 6-3 Leeds

These early rounds of the Carabao Cup have become a test of depth and desire for the heavyweights of the Premier League.

Seldom are the big beasts rattled by those from the EFL anymore but there’s always a good chance they will get a fright if the fringe players show up and think they can go through the motions like it’s some sort of charity match.

That’s the way it went last night for Xabi Alonso. His Chelsea team were outfought, outplayed and two goals down before a second half cavalry charge from the A-listers on the bench, sparked by a soft penalty given by Jarred Gillett for an overreaction by Pep Chavarria to minimal contact from Dan James.

Cole Palmer rolled in the penalty, cool as you like and two minutes later scored a second, a simply exquisite finish curled low into the bottom with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area to level the tie at 2-2.

Stamford Bridge, subdued into silence by the first half was suddenly supercharged. Pedro Neto produced an almost identical finish to put Chelsea ahead and Danny Welbeck added the fourth.

Still, even with the first teamers out there, Alonso’s team creaked at the back. Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled Leeds back to within a goal. It was the 10th conceded by Chelsea in the first five games of the season.

Valentin Barco scored the fifth to avert an anxious finale and Welbeck’s second, deflecting a mis-hit Barco shot past hapless goalkeeper Michael Zetterer, booked Chelsea into the fourth round - but high-flying Hull City might fancy their chances of another shock result here in the Premier League on Saturday.

Nine Chelsea changes included a debut for 16-year-old midfielder Reggie Watson, who signed from Crystal Palace two years ago. Watson, son of Wigan FA Cup goal hero Ben, became the club’s fourth youngest player of all time.

'We have all been Reggie Watson one day, hopefully he will enjoy it,' said Blues boss Alonso before kick-off. Although, there was not a lot for the home team to enjoy in the first half. Leeds came out at a fierce lick.

Watson was not the only one in blue who found it difficult to match the aggression and desire of the visitors. They snapped into tackles, alert and with a competitive edge missing from Chelsea’s young, lightweight team. They also carried a serious threat from set pieces, including Ethan Ampadu’s long throw.

Leeds deserved their lead, scored from a corner after a fine double save by Chelsea Mike Penders, from Brenden Aaronson and Tarik Muharemovic. Harry Wilson swung the corner deep to the far post and Muharemovic climbed above the crowd to head in his first goal in English football.

The Bosnia international signed for £34million from Sassuolo in Italy was best known before moving to Leeds for being on the receiving end of Folarin Balogun’s lunge which led to a red card for the USA striker and the great diplomatic skirmish of the World Cup summer.

Leeds should have had more than a one-goal lead to show for their first-half dominance in the first half. Sean Longstaff fired the best of the chances over.

Alonso made four changes at the interval but within two minutes of the restart Chelsea were two down. Barco was easily dispossessed on the break and punished by Ampadu, whose low cross was swept in by Aaronson.

Leeds fans celebrated noisily in the Shed End but the mayhem was only just beginning.