Tyrique George produced a goal and assist as Chelsea staged a quickfire second-half comeback to defeat Lincoln City 2-1 to reach the fourth round of 2025-26 Carabao Cup.
Facundo Buonanotte netted Chelsea’s 50th-minute winner from George’s return pass in an one-two move to complete a second-half comeback in the space of three minutes at Sincil Bank.
George had equalised with a 48th-minute strike off the right post from a loose deflective clearance, after Rob Street had fired Lincoln City into a 42nd minute lead from Ivan Varfolomeyev’s headed pass.
Chelsea will discover their fourth-round opposition on Wednesday 24 September following the conclusion of Port Vale’s tie against Arsenal on Sky Sports in the UK.
Despite Enzo Maresca’s decision to field a strong line-up amidst several changes, Chelsea struggled to gel and were almost punished barely two minutes in when Lewis Montsma fired wide, having met a short slip-through pass from Ben House.
Sonny Bradley then saw a fifth-minute header saved as Lincoln City’s unpredictable throw-in variety puzzled the Blues with little psychological grasp of the Imps’ gameplay.
Malo Gusto was lucky to not worsen Chelsea’s poor start as he slipped inside his own box in the 13th minute and brought down Freddie Draper, but referee – Matt Donohue waved away the hosts’ appeals for a penalty.
Chelsea eventually managed to trouble the Imps’ defence in the 19th minute from Andrey Santos’ cross to the right post, yet Jamie Gittens could only flick his shot diagonally over the bar.
Street and Bradley saw headers blocked as Lincoln City continued to terrorise Chelsea’s sloppy defence until Fernandez’s cross to Chalobah was intercepted by Varfolomeyev, who headed down for Street to rifle past Filip Jorgensen into the right corner to put the Imps ahead at half-time.
Chelsea however came out and immediately showed their superior quality as a loose deflective 48th-minute clearance was smashed in by George off the right post to restore parity.
Maresca’s Blues swiftly reapplied their new-found intensity two minutes later as George played a return pass in an one-two move started and finished by Facundo Buonanotte, as the Argentinian slotted in past Zach Jeacock to turn the tie around.
Lincoln City subsequently regained the upper hand in terms of attack but Draper saw shots blocked and roll wide as he looked to be the Imps’ best hope of an equaliser, until he was substituted in the 71st minute.
Chelsea however wrestled back control in the closing stages but Jeacock blocked Buonanotte’s 82nd-minute shot, before the Blues clung on for victory amidst a late resurgence from the hosts.
What’s Next?
Lincoln City resume their League One campaign with a trip to Peterborough at 3pm BST on Saturday 27 September.
Chelsea return their attention to the Premier League as they host Brighton at Stamford Bridge at 3pm on Saturday 27 September.
Teams
Lincoln City: Zach Jeacock, Tendayi Darikwa, Tom Hamer, Lewis Montsma (Okoronkwo 85′), Sonny Bradley, Ryley Towler, Rob Street (Obikwu 71′), Conor McGrandles, Ivan Varfolomeyev (Bayliss 71′), Ben House (Hackett 71′), Freddie Draper (Collins 71′)
Substitutes: Tom Bayliss, James Collins, Reeco Hackett, Justin Obikwu, Francis Okoronkwo, Adam Reach, Erik Ring, Oscar Thorn, George Wickens
Chelsea: Filip Jorgensen, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Jorrel Hato, Enzo Fernandez (Cucurella 70′), Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens (Neto 70′), Facundo Buonanotte (Walsh 95′), Alejandro Garnacho (Estevao 59′), Tyrique George (Mheuka 70′)
Substitutes: Estevao, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Ollie Harrison, Reece James, Pedro Neto, Shumaira Mheuka, Gabriel Slonina, Reggie Walsh
Referee – Matt Donohue