It was far from an easy evening for the Premier League side in the Welsh capital.
Chelsea advanced to the EFL Cup semi-final after a narrow 2-1 victory over League One side Cardiff City in the Welsh capital.
Substitutes Alejandro Garnacho, who scored a brace, and Pedro Neto found the net for a much-changed Blues side, but they were made to work for victory against a spirited Cardiff side, who were the only team from outside the Premier League to remain in the competition.
Scotland international David Turnbull had equalized for the hosts, but their impressive performance failed to produce a cup upset and Enzo Maresca’s side progressed to the semi-finals.
On a night where the League One leaders more than held their own, Isaak Davies had the first real chance of the game, cutting an effort wide after being played in down the left.
The top players in Stage Three were resolute in their playing philosophy, bravely sticking to a philosophy of playing out from the back, seemingly unfazed by the caliber of opposition.
And they came even closer to taking the lead shortly after the half-hour mark, Filip Jorgensen doing well to keep out a deflected low cross that looked goal-bound before the Danish striker was saved again from the head of former Arsenal man Calum Chambers.
In contrast, a young Chelsea side showed few signs of attacking intent; The speedy Tyrique George was perhaps the biggest threat to Maresca’s men, but they failed to create any clear-cut chances.
Maresca introduced some big hitters at half-time, with the arrival of Joao Pedro and Garnacho aiming to liven things up for the visitors.
And it worked almost instantly, Garnacho turning in a neat pass from Facundo Buonanotte eight minutes after the restart, but the substitute was thwarted by Trott.
Garnacho, however, won’t be denied for long. Three minutes later, young defender Dylan Lawlor gave the ball directly to Buonanotte and the Argentine punished the mistake by heading towards goal before feeding the ball to his compatriot, who finished well from a narrow angle.
The momentum had suddenly changed. Buonanotte, increasingly influential, curled an effort towards the top corner which Trott superbly tipped over.
But with just over a quarter of an hour to go, Turnbull brought Cardiff level when he headed home after a wicked delivery from Perry Ng.
Just when it looked like the hosts might pull off an almighty upset, Chelsea regained the lead when another substitute, Neto, fired a shot that nestled into the bottom corner.
Garnacho added to his tally in stoppage time to add sparkle to what was far from an easy evening for the Londoners against their plucky lower league opponent.
