A thrilling Carabao Cup semi-final first leg finished 3-2 to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea beaten but alive in the tie.
The Gunners were ahead early on as Ben White nodded in from a corner after just seven minutes, with Robert Sanchez flapping at the cross.
It got worse for the Blues keeper as he fumbled a low cross to allow Viktor Gyokeres to poke home a second just after the break.
Things looked pretty bleak for Liam Rosenior’s men at that point but they responded impressively after a spell of Arsenal pressure.
Substitute Alejandro Garnacho got Chelsea back into it with a smart finish just before the hour mark, but Martin Zubimendi’s strike re-established Arsenal’s two-goal lead.
Garnacho popped up at the back post late on, though, netting from a corner as Kepa Arrizabalaga floundered on the deck.
The second leg is played at the Emirates next month and while clearly Arsenal have the advantage, Garnacho has kept Chelsea hopes alive.
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The Gunners thought they had a penalty late on as Gabriel Jesus was taken down by Jorrel Hato, but the Brazilian was eventually given offside.
There were eight bookings in the match, which was largely good-spirited, but got spicy towards the end and there were handbags after the final whistle.
Rosenior, who was taking charge of his first game at Stamford Bridge, was on the field dragging captain Enzo Fernandez away from the trouble.
White sounded frustrated that Chelsea got back into the game after the break, telling Sky Sports: ‘We didn’t play very well in the second half and let them give us more pressure. Not up to our standards really, a disappointing second half.’
Hostilities will resume on Tuesday February 3 in north London.