Carabao Cup: Alonso credits belief and fans for Chelsea’s comeback against Leeds
By Joel Masibo, September 10, 2026Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has praised his players’ mentality and the Stamford Bridge supporters after the Blues produced a remarkable comeback to beat Leeds United 6-3 in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night, September 9, 2026.
Chelsea endured a difficult first half after Alonso made nine changes to the side that started the match. Leeds took advantage of the hosts’ struggles and went ahead through Tarik Muharemovic, who headed in midway through the opening period.
Alonso responded at the interval by introducing Reece James, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers in a quadruple substitution. However, the changes did not immediately prevent Leeds from extending their advantage, with Brenden Aaronson scoring just two minutes into the second half.
The setback sparked a dramatic response from Chelsea. Palmer pulled one goal back from the penalty spot before scoring again to bring the hosts level.
Neto then completed the turnaround with a well-taken finish, before Danny Welbeck added a fourth. Leeds briefly threatened another comeback when Dominic Calvert-Lewin reduced the deficit, but Valentin Barco scored his first goal for Chelsea and Welbeck struck again late on to seal an entertaining victory.
Alonso admitted the opening 45 minutes had not gone according to plan and accepted responsibility for the problems caused by his team selection.
“It was thrilling and there were different emotions during the game,” reflected Alonso. “Things were not going the way we wanted in the first half, and I made those decisions, so I take responsibility and take the blame, not the players.”
“In the second half, we showed a great reaction after conceding the second goal. We kept going, and it was very important to believe and get the crowd excited. They helped us a lot.”
The Chelsea boss explained that the four players brought on at half-time were instructed to raise the intensity of the team’s performance and compete more strongly in key areas.
“[We asked that] they try to have a good impact in energy, in aggressiveness, in tempo, in duels, because we were struggling in that moment against a very intense Leeds. We did very well. I take context for the first half and I will assess my own decisions.”
Alonso also rejected the suggestion that his players lacked the right attitude during the disappointing opening half, instead pointing to the difficulty of introducing several new combinations at once.
“Even in the first half, I’m not going to blame the attitude. There were many new things together and they were not working – that is my responsibility. Afterwards, once you score, you start believing, looking better and making better decisions.”
“So it’s about the mind of the players, the feeling and it was much better in the second half,” he said.