Nine changes, a 2-0 deficit, and a referee doing his best to make himself the story. Chelsea somehow turned all of that into a 6-3 win over Leeds at Stamford Bridge, and Cole Palmer was at the centre of every bit of it.
This was the Carabao Cup third round. It should not have been this good. It very nearly was not.
Alonso Almost Got It Badly Wrong
Xabi Alonso rotated heavily and paid for it immediately. Nine changes to the starting side left Chelsea looking genuinely shambolic. Sixteen-year-old debutant Reggie Watson, son of former Wigan midfielder Ben Watson, was overrun in midfield. Estêvão Willian and Jamie Gittens contributed almost nothing going forward. Valentín Barco was second best throughout the first half.
Leeds, who made eight changes of their own, were the sharper side. Tarik Muharemovic, the Bosnia and Herzegovina centre-back signed from Sassuolo, headed Harry Wilson's corner past Mike Penders to open the scoring in the 23rd minute. Then, three minutes into the second half, Barco lost the ball cheaply, Ethan Ampadu drove forward and found Lukas Nmecha, who set up Brenden Aaronson to make it 2-0.
At that point, Alonso was in the dugout with a problem of his own making. He said as much afterwards: "I take responsibility. No player is to blame. It's the decisions we took."
[Alonso had already shown he is not afraid to back Reece James in midfield](/uprise/football/premier-league-news-richarlison-refused-new-contract-alonso-backs-james) and James duly came on at half-time as part of a quadruple substitution. Morgan Rogers and Palmer replaced Estêvão and Gittens. Pedro Neto came on for Malo Gusto, who had barely been able to complete a pass. The team that walked out for the second half barely resembled the one that had capitulated.
Palmer and a Penalty That Changed Everything
Here is where Jarred Gillett enters the picture, and Leeds will not be forgetting him anytime soon. Pep Chavarría crossed from the left, went to ground after slight contact from Daniel James, and Gillett pointed to the spot. Leeds manager Daniel Farke was furious: "He gave out of nothing a penalty where it wasn't even a chance for them."
Palmer scored it in the 53rd minute. And from that moment, Chelsea were a different side.
Two minutes later Palmer equalised, stroking a casual finish past Michael Zetterer from 20 yards after Rogers played him in. On the hour, Palmer and Rogers combined to send Neto through for 3-2. Danny Welbeck made it 4-2 in the 65th minute with a sharp turn and finish. Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled one back for Leeds, briefly reminding Alonso that the defensive problems are real, Chelsea having now conceded 10 goals in all competitions this early in the season. But Barco scored his first goal for the club from Rogers' cross, and Welbeck got a sixth when Barco's mis-hit deflected in off him.
Four goals in 12 minutes. Rogers had a hand in four of Chelsea's goals across the second half. Palmer finished with two and ran the show. It was, as Farke put it, "a crazy nuts game."
Chelsea have now scored 16 goals in Alonso's first five matches. The [new manager problem is a real one in elite football](/uprise/football/champions-league-is-fertile-ground-for-new-managers-but-knowhow) but Alonso is not short of attacking firepower to paper over early cracks.
The verdict is simple: Chelsea are wildly entertaining and dangerously leaky, Palmer is the difference-maker every single time he touches the ball, and Alonso got lucky on Wednesday. He will not want to test that rotation logic again anytime soon.