WOLVERHAMPTON, England (Interstat) — In a chaotic and high-scoring League Cup match that defied pregame projections, Chelsea outlasted Wolverhampton 4-3 on Wednesday at Molineux Stadium after a late flurry of goals, including two in second-half stoppage time.

The match, a third-round fixture in England’s domestic cup competition, was a showcase for both teams’ substitutes, with Chelsea’s young replacements providing the decisive edge in a contest that saw momentum swing wildly until the final whistle.

Chelsea opened the scoring just five minutes into the match through substitute Andrey Santos, signaling an early dominance. The lead was doubled ten minutes later when another Chelsea substitute, Tyrique George, found the net, putting the visitors in a commanding position.

Wolverhampton struggled to gain a foothold in the early stages, and Chelsea’s pressure continued. Before the halftime break, yet another substitute, the 17-year-old Brazilian winger Estevão, extended Chelsea’s lead to 3-0 in the 41st minute. The first half was not without its disciplinary issues, as Chelsea’s Estevão and Wolverhampton’s Rodrigo Gomes received yellow cards in the 24th and 31st minutes, respectively.

Any notion of a straightforward Chelsea victory was erased shortly after the restart. Wolverhampton’s Tolu Arokodare scored in the 48th minute, giving the home side a lifeline and shifting the momentum. The goal ignited the Molineux crowd and the match grew increasingly fractious, with Wolverhampton’s Hwang Heechan booked in the 54th minute.

Chelsea’s substitute duo combined again to seemingly restore order, as Estevão assisted on a goal by Santos in the 73rd minute, pushing the lead back to three goals at 4-1. However, the drama was far from over.

Wolverhampton mounted a stunning late comeback. David Møller Wolfe pulled a goal back for the home side in the 79th minute, making it 4-2. The match then descended into further chaos when Wolverhampton’s Liam Delap, who had been yellow-carded just minutes prior, was shown a red card in the 86th minute, reducing his side to 10 men for the final, frantic moments.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Wolverhampton pressed forward and Jamie Gittens scored in the 89th minute to set up a nervy finale at 4-3. In a remarkable turn, David Møller Wolfe scored his second goal of the game in the first minute of stoppage time, completing his brace and suddenly leveling the score at 4-4.

But Chelsea had the final say. Immediately from the restart, the Blues drove forward and Tyrique George secured his brace, scoring the winning goal to complete a wild 4-3 victory. The frantic ending was marred by a flurry of yellow cards in stoppage time shown to Chelsea’s Cucurella and Moisés Caicedo and Wolverhampton’s Ladislav Krejčí.

The result was a stark contrast to the pregame analytics. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a low-scoring 1-1 draw, while its ELO system had given Chelsea a 91.70 percent probability to win, though it could not have foreseen the seven-goal thriller that unfolded.

With the win, Chelsea begins its League Cup campaign with one win and no losses this season, while Wolverhampton starts with one loss. Across all competitions, Chelsea’s record improves to one win and no losses, while Wolverhampton’s record falls to no wins and one loss.