Maresca had branded the build-up to Saturday’s 2-0 win over Everton as his ‘worst 48 hours’ in charge of Chelsea, and the first half would not have improved his mood.
The Italian named an entirely different starting XI to the weekend, and the Premier League (PL) side struggled to find their rhythm as a sold-out Cardiff City Stadium roared the hosts forward.
Indeed, the Bluebirds had the first chance of note when Isaak Davies ran onto Joel Bagan’s 23rd-minute through ball, but the winger rushed the shot and sliced it well wide.
Cardiff’s starting line-up featured five academy graduates, whereas Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo cost £115m alone.
The Blues skipper showed his class on the half-hour mark when his threaded pass released Marc Guiu, but home goalkeeper Nathan Trott saved with his legs at the near post in what proved to be Chelsea’s only shot on target of the half.
At the other end, Filip Jӧrgensen reacted well to push Davies’ deflected cross against the post and behind for a corner.
Maresca sent on João Pedro and Garnacho at HT, and the latter made the breakthrough 12 minutes after the restart, as Facundo Buonanotte cut out Dylan Lawlor’s pass and set up the substitute to find the far corner for his third goal of the season.
Trott tipped Buonanotte’s curler over the crossbar shortly after, but Cardiff rallied, perhaps buoyed by the confidence of beating higher-division opposition in the previous two rounds.
They got their reward with 15 minutes left, and it came from an unlikely source, as David Turnbull made a great run to meet Perry Ng’s cross and head home his first goal for 13 months.
It was the sixth time in seven Cardiff home matches that both teams had scored.
The stadium was rocking following the equaliser, but seven minutes later, the Bluebirds fans were silenced again.
There was a touch of fortune as substitute Neto fired low towards the far corner, and a deflection off Bagan took it beyond Trott, making the Portuguese winger Chelsea’s outright top goalscorer this season (G6).
Garnacho netted again in stoppage time to wrap up the victory, and more importantly for Maresca, the Blues avoided a cup upset as they knocked out the only remaining non-PL side in the competition.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Facundo Buonanotte (Chelsea)
