Chelsea survived an early scare and fought back from a goal down to beat fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon 2-1 in the Carabao Cup second round on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. The League Two visitors took a shock lead from the penalty spot in the 19th minute through James Tilley after Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez brought down Harry Pell inside the box.
The Blues continued to dominate possession but failed to convert it until a penalty for a foul on Noni Madueke was awarded in first-half stoppage time, which the England under-21 forward converted to level the scores 1-1. Both teams tried hard to score a winner but failed. However, in the 72nd minute, substitute Enzo Fernandez scored the winner for the hosts, his first goal for the club since joining from Benfica in a British record deal in February.
After failing to qualify for Europe last season, Chelsea advanced to the second round of the competition for the first time since 2016, finishing 12th in the Premier League. Chelsea will take on Brighton in the third-round match on September 26 at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, another Premier League team, Everton came from behind in another encounter to defeat League Two’s bottom club Doncaster Rovers 2-1 and advance to the Carabao Cup third round. When Joe Ironside headed home a header from Tommy Rowe’s whipped ball a minute before halftime, an upset appeared to be on the cards for Everton. However, new Everton player Beto tied the score on his debut, neatly poking past Rover’s goalkeeper Ian Lawlor after collecting an Abdoulaye Doucoure assist.
Beto impressed on his debut for Everton. After coming in at half-time alongside Ashley Young and Idrissa Gueye, the 6ft 4in Portuguese striker, who scored 10 goals for Udinese last season, revived the Toffees. Everton have had a poor start to the season, losing all three Premier League games and surrendering six goals while scoring none, leaving them in last place.
On the other hand, Beto made an immediate impression with his team’s first goal of the season and looked sharp throughout his appearance. The 25-year-old striker’s equalizer 17 minutes from time revived Sean Dyche’s men’s spirits, and they rallied to win.
Arnaut Danjuma then scored 15 minutes later to earn his team a much-needed first win of the season and a third-round clash with Aston Villa at Villa Park in the week beginning September 25.
