Chelsea won 5-0 in the Carabao Cup tie with Barrow last night, cruising to victory with nice goals, a clean sheet, impressive performances and a great buzz at Stamford Bridge by the end.
The only minor complaint some fans might have had would have been the lack of young academy players in the starting lineup, but both Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong were introduced in the 60th minute to mute the grumbles. Both had their moments, even though the game was pretty much a friendly by that point with the Blues miles clear.
After the game, manager Enzo Maresca was asked what he had made of their impact.
Manager asked about impact of academy talents
“I was happy with Tyrique [George] and with Josh [Acheampong], I thought they both did very well,” Chelsea’s head coach said when prompted for a little feedback on how he thought the Cobham kid had done.
“In these types of games, for them it was important to be brave, don’t be shy. It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake, that’s football. They both did very good. Tyrique missed a chance but then he created another one for himself.
“I really liked the way Josh showed himself with the ball, stepped in, was brave and showed personality. I am happy for both of them,” Enzo concluded in the quotes on the team’s official website.
It seems like we know his policy now – play the first team rotations options to start, but bring on the kids if all is going well. It’s still not quite the level of faith in academy talent that some fans would like to see, but it’s better than nothing, and if we go far in all 3 of our cup competitions this season it should still mean plenty of action for them in the next 9 months.