Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick as Chelsea cruised into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a 5-0 victory over Barrow at Stamford Bridge. Nkunku scored in the eighth minute with a composed finish after a well-executed chipped pass from Joao Felix. The forward quickly scored his second goal with a clever flick, redirecting Malo Gusto's low cross into the net. Shortly after, Felix scored from a free-kick that hit the post and bounced in off Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman, giving the Blues a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Two minutes after the restart, Pedro Neto scored his first goal for Chelsea by tapping in after Mykhailo Mudryk's pass across the goal. Nkunku completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute by dispossessing the keeper Farman and slotting the ball into an empty net. Nkunku made his first start for the hosts since their defeat by Manchester City on the opening day last month. Big shoutout for his first Chelsea hat-trick, the 26-year-old Frenchman has now scored six goals in eight appearances for the Blues this season.

Before this game, Chelsea and Barrow only met once before in any competition, in the 1947-48 FA Cup third round, where the Blues won 5-0 at Stamford Bridge. History repeated itself on Tuesday, as Chelsea made it seven wins from their last seven EFL Cup ties against teams from the fourth tier.