Chelsea’s youngsters deserved the chance to shine in Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie with Grimsby Town and Frank Lampard is extremely pleased with the way things are going at the moment but has also hinted at possible improvements.
Marc Guehi, Reece James and Billy Gilmour made their first starts for Chelsea, while Faustino Anjorin and Ian Maatsen were introduced as second-half substitutes as Chelsea cruised into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a crushing 7-1 win against Grimsby Town at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues raced to two goals ahead inside the opening seven minutes of the game thanks to strikes from Ross Barkley and Michy Batshuayi, but the League Two side pulled one goal back through Matt Green.
Spanish winger Pedro restored his side’s two-goal lead from the penalty spot, however, and further goals from Kurt Zouma, James, Batshuayi and the returning Callum Hudson-Odoi ensured a comfortable and first win at Stamford Bridge for Frank Lampard.
Although Lampard insisted that the performance was not perfect he was extremely pleased with his academy graduates for their hard work. The 41-year-old Englishman spoke to reporters after the game and said “It was pleasing on lots of levels, They’ve deserved to this point to make it into the team. Billy Gilmour had a fantastic debut, running the game from midfield. Marc Guehi was solid and they deserved their starts since I’ve been at the club – and I’ve known them before when they played for the Under-23s. I think they’ve been outstanding this year. The young boys that come on as subs, who are still young boys, to show their comfort on the ball and who they are. The opportunities are there but now the hard work really begins to get in there regularly and show they’re worthy of the squad.”
