It was a difficult opening period, with the raucous home support and Lincoln’s playing style making it a challenge for the Blues to gain a foothold in the contest – and we went a goal down just before the break.

A much-improved Chelsea side emerged after the interval, and a quickfire double from Tyrique George and Facundo Buonanotte gave us the lead within five minutes of the restart. It was a margin which we maintained until the final whistle.

Gusto expected the game to be a hard-fought battle and was pleased with our response after a disappointing opening period.

‘It was a tough game, and we knew it would be before we came here,’ Gusto opened, speaking after the match.

‘We know that they play a lot with set-pieces and long throws, and in the first half, it was very complicated for us to get into the game. They play to their qualities, and we had to deal with that.

'The second half was much better for us. We showed more energy, more desire and kept fighting on the pitch. We’re happy to get to the next round.

‘The most important thing was to fight. We won more in the second half. The most important thing was to keep fighting together to get back into it.’

After lifting silverware in the Conference League and the Club World Cup last season, the Blues full-back is eager for more and believes the Carabao Cup could provide that opportunity.

‘We want to win this trophy for sure, and we are on the way,’ he continued. ‘We know that last season was good for us in terms of trophies, so of course we want to do our best this season, and we knew it would be important to win now to keep going as far as possible.’

With Brighton at the Bridge awaiting us next, Malo is hopeful that victory in difficult conditions at Lincoln can help us rediscover our momentum following back-to-back defeats.

The full-back added: ‘The last two games have been hard for us, but it was good to get back into the winning feeling today.

‘We want to keep building confidence as a team, and go into the next game against Brighton with more confidence and more desire and try to win.’