Chelsea’s players may want to forget their midweek win against Lincoln City quickly because it wasn’t pretty. While the team’s overall performance was questionable, there were still plenty of positives and negatives from the EFL Cup tie.
The Blues are into the fourth round of the League Cup because they came from behind to beat League One club Lincoln, securing a 2-1 victory on Tuesday evening away from home.
Head coach Enzo Maresca made eight changes to his starting line-up for the cup tie. Even so, it was still a pretty formidable XI against an opponent two leagues below them.
- Chelsea’s starting XI vs Lincoln City: Filip Jorgensen, Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana, Jorrel Hato, Andrey Santos, Enzo Fernandez, Jamie Gittens, Facundo Buonanotte, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrique George
In his post-match interview, Maresca reflected on Chelsea’s “lucky” win against Lincoln, which required them to come from behind in the second half.
Winners
Even though Chelsea were flat for large spells against Lincoln, some individuals should come out of the cup win with credit in the bank. We’ve taken a look at the three biggest winners for the Blues from yesterday’s match…
Tyrique George: There won’t be many individuals in the Chelsea side that gained too much from the Lincoln clash, but Tyrique George has to be one of the exceptions.
The 19-year-old attacker, who was deployed as the central striker again, couldn’t get much of a kick during a frustrating first half. But he showed superb desire, concentration and skill to change the contest at the start of the second period.
His powerful half volley from outside the box went in off the post and levelled the game at 1-1. He then assisted his team’s winning goal, too.
Chelsea supporters waxed lyrical about George, rightly so, after he popped up with a moment of brilliance to bail his side out of a hole against Lincoln.
Andrey Santos: In terms of Chelsea’s best player against Lincoln, Andrey Santos, 21, probably deserves that crown.
The Brazilian central midfielder popped up with several outstanding defensive interventions to help out, which was needed as the League One outfit provided a physical threat in the air all game.
Unlike most of the Blues stars in midweek, Santos proved a point with his rare start. He has to be banging on Maresca’s door for more minutes because he’s been such a consistent performer whenever he’s been on the pitch this season.
It is no coincidence that Chelsea fans have been asking for Santos to play more, and that noise should only grow louder following his cup display because he’s one individual who didn’t go into his shell.
Facundo Buonanotte: Finally, Facundo Buonanotte was another big winner in Chelsea colours as he scored his first goal for the club.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who joined on loan from Brighton in the summer, definitely caught the eye as a bright spark in the chaos against Lincoln. For instance, he produced several intelligent flicks around the corner to highlight his confidence and creativity.
It was Buonanotte who scored his side’s winning goal in the cup, which came after his positive forward run into the box, which was topped off with the finish from close range.
Reports claim that Cole Palmer could miss up to six weeks through injury, so on-loan playmaker Buonanotte may suddenly become a viable creative option.
Losers
The truth is it was a lot easier to pick the negatives from the Lincoln fixture, where several fringe players failed to make the most of minutes to impress. Let’s take a look at three Chelsea players who were the biggest losers from the cup tie…
Filip Jorgensen: It was a shocking night for Filip Jorgensen, 23, in the Chelsea goal.
The keeper was handed his first start of the 2025/26 season, and we’ve just seen why he’s behind Robert Sanchez in the pecking order for the starting position between the sticks.
He looked extremely nervous when Lincoln delivered the ball into his box, failing to command his area or make simple clearances. It was a tough evening for the fanbase watching him in goal.
If it was an audition for Jorgensen to play more regularly, we would say he failed comprehensively.
| Minutes played | Goals conceded | Saves | Accurate passes | High claim | Punches | Yellow cards | Match rating |
| 90 | 1 | 0 | 41/47 (87%) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.4 |
Enzo Fernandez: Yet again, Enzo Fernandez was one of Chelsea’s poorest players in a football match. It is becoming increasingly worrying to see him so out of form.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI, needs a rest because he looks miles off his best form right now. In particular, his passing and decision-making looked dodgy against Lincoln. It was actually his loose pass that led to their opening goal.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s claim that Fernandez isn’t fully fit looks more and more right with every passing appearance.
Alejandro Garnacho: It may be a bit harsh to put Alejandro Garnacho here. He just wasted what felt like a massive opportunity, though.
On his first-ever Chelsea start, Garnacho delivered a pretty subdued individual performance before he was substituted off around the hour mark.
The 21-year-old winger doesn’t look like he’s up to full speed yet, which is understandable because of the way he left Manchester United in the summer. But he’s in danger of being left behind in the race for a starting position if he doesn’t get going soon.
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