Chelsea reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a dramatic 5-3 comeback win over Leeds United, despite manager Xabi Alonso making nine changes that nearly backfired. Leeds led 2-0 through goals from Tarik Muharemovic and Brenden Aaronson, before a quadruple substitution from Alonso at half-time transformed the game. Cole Palmer was the standout performer as Chelsea scored four goals in 12 minutes to turn the tie around, condemning Leeds to a third-round exit for the 14th time in 18 years.

Leeds took a deserved first-half lead through Muharemovic's header and extended it early in the second half via Aaronson after good work from Ethan Ampadu and Lukas Nmecha. Chelsea, rattled by heavy rotation and shaky goalkeeping from Mike Penders, hauled off Estêvão and Jamie Gittens for Palmer and Morgan Rogers, with Pedro Neto and Reece James also introduced. Palmer converted a 53rd-minute penalty after Reece James fouled Pep Chavarría, then equalised with a composed finish before Neto put Chelsea ahead, sparking a rapid turnaround that secured a 5-3 victory.