The previous time Chelsea progressed through a Champions League group stage unbeaten was in 2014, only a few weeks after Doelrset-born Anjorin had reached his teenage years. Fast forward to the current campaign, the 19-year-old was preparing his full debut on the big stage, to join with Tammy Abraham and Kai Havertz in a youthful, vibrant attack.
Anjorin had his League Cup debut against Grimsby Town 15 months before and his Premier League debut back in March, arriving off the bench in Chelsea’s last outing before the football shutdown, but this was his first impression he gave to Frank Lampard.
He began on the left of the three-pronged attack and put in an energetic performance in front of a small home crowd, which involved only a limited group of family members. He was introduced in the starting XI against Krasnodar in Chelsea’s final group stage game and he talked to the press after the match.
‘It’s a special night for me and my family, especially with the fans back now as well. To be able to have them here for my full debut was just amazing,’ he said as per Chelsea’s Official website.
‘My family were here as well. We had about five tickets so everyone was buzzing! I had loads of people asking for tickets but obviously, because of Covid-19 they can’t all come so I had to select a few but they were all delighted.’
‘I got called in for training so I had some suspicions but at first I thought I’d be on the bench,’ he explained. ‘When we put the team out in training, he [Lampard] said “Tino, left wing” and that’s when I was like “am I starting?” After that, Frank came up to me and asked if I was excited for my debut!
‘It was different and it took me a while to get used to the position,’ he said of playing wide on the left. ‘I thought on the ball I did well and off the ball I could have been a bit better but obviously that’s just me having not played there very often. It’s a performance I can definitely improve on.’
While initially questioning whether he may be an alternative, Anjorin disclosed how he was notified of his imminent beginning in the training day before the game.
Even though he has not played that much on the left in spite of his development through the Chelsea academy, he was particularly pleased with adaptation to the duties of the role.
