Chelsea’s Reserve team tasted defeat for the first time since being crowed national champions last May as they went down by a single goal away to an impressive Aston Villa side.

Callum Robinson’s first half opener came after an error of judgement by Rhys Taylor and despite some hard graft in midfield, Chelsea were unable to get back on terms.

With international call-ups depriving coach Dermot Drummy of some key squad members, the pack was shuffled from last week’s 3-3 draw with Everton. Schoolboy forward Alex Kiwomya made his first start at this level whilst returning loanee Ben Gordon joined Carl Magnay at centre-back, with Sam Hutchinson captaining the side from right-back.

Villa included first team experience in Carlos Cuellar, Marc Albrighton, Chris Herd and Ciaran Clark but also featured 16 year-old forwards Jack Grealish and Robinson.

The playing surface at Hinckley United’s Greene King Stadium was somewhat on the bobbly side and perhaps contributed to two early bookings as both Hutchinson and Herd had their names taken for a robust approach to tackling.

Kevin McDonald’s team were clearly keen to get the ball wide at every opportunity and it meant lively starts for Albrighton and Grealish, and the former had the first attempt of the game but found Taylor equal to his low right-footed effort.

Australian centre-back Shane Lowry went closer with a glanced header from Albrighton’s free kick but after a slow start, Chelsea began to find their game in the middle of the park and asserted themselves on proceedings.

A fine driving run from Jacob Mellis capped a swift move up the pitch but there was no blue shirt on the end of his teasing drive across the face of goal. A deflection took it behind for a corner, from which Clark was grateful to Albrighton for saving him the ignominy of an own goal as the winger headed his sliced clearance off the line.

Kaby dragged an ambitious effort wide before calamitious defending from Villa handed Chelsea a huge chance to go ahead, but neither Kiwomya nor the Portuguese winger could find a way past Calum Barrett, who smothered their close range efforts well.

However, Chelsea showed that they were equally capable of defensive mishaps and were made to pay for committing two in as many minutes.

Conor Clifford had a let off when Robinson failed to make him pay for conceding possession on the edge of his own box after receiving a short Taylor pass, but the teenage forward was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth twice, and intercepted Taylor’s next attempted ball forward before beating the Welshman with ease from close range.

Chelsea’s desire to play football from back to front may well be admirable, but on this occasion it cost a goal and was entirely avoidable.

They spent the rest of the first half trying hard to find a way back into the game but often struggled to find the transition up the pitch. Villa were comfortable to hold their shape and pick off loose balls, and nearly doubled their lead when Albrighton dragged an effort onto the post.

Drummy made no changes at the break but waited less than ten minutes of the second half to do so, bringing Adam Nditi into the game in relief of Kiwomya. It left Chelsea with no natural striker on the pitch.

Kaby moved into the most central attacking role but it was for all intents and purposes a 4-6-0 formation which did little to help the Blues’ lack of attacking penetration. Nditi immediately showed his youthful verve, with pace and direct running into the box, but a good tackle from right-back Webb denied him a shooting chance.

Taylor’s night then threatened to go from bad to worse as another desperate attempt at a short clearance only found Grealish, and despite it appearing as if the goalkeeper fouled the young Irish winger, the referee inexplicably signalled for a corner with everyone expecting a penalty and a red card.

Had he been dismissed it would have meant an opportunity for former Chelsea academy youngster James Russell. Now playing for Canvey Island, he has been coaching the younger age groups more and more in recent times and was named as the substitute goalkeeper in Jamal Blackman’s absence.

With that lifeline, the visitors were almost on terms when Mellis found Nditi out wide on the left, who in turn delivered a lovely ball across the face of goal, but Kaby was unable to apply the finish at the far post.

Chances were few and far between, relying more on Villa errors than Chelsea creativity. A long ball in search of Mellis was swept up by Barrett but the goalkeeper’s clearance was poor and only found Nditi.

He attempted a lobbed effort from some 35 yards out and wasn’t too far away, but his attempt landed on the roof of the net.

Such moments were increasingly rare though, and instead Villa’s sights of goal were far more convincing, although Clark twice missed the target with unmarked headers from set pieces.

Substitute Nditi was looking the most likely to make something happen for his team and with just over ten minutes to go it was his brilliant cross which threatened to finally unlock the Villa defence, but Saville was denied by Barrett, then the crossbar, and finally a brave defensive block in succession.

Going so close served to inspire the Blues, who upped their intensity and desire in the final ten minutes but were unable to find the way through. Rohan Ince entered for the final moments as a makeshift targetman but had little effect, and Chelsea fell to their first defeat of the season.

It was a spirited if slightly disjointed performance which clearly lacked the attacking threat the reserves have had for most of the last year. Good approach play fell flat in the final third and whilst the defenders generally dealt well with Villa at the other end, they paid for one individual mistake.

Team: Taylor, Hutchinson (c), Magnay, Gordon, Deen-Conteh (Ince 89), C.Clifford, Mellis, Saville, Kaby, B.Clifford, Kiwomya (Nditi 55)

Booked: Hutchinson

After last week’s goalscoring antics on the loan front, things took a more serene turn in the past seven days with fewer incidents of note, but with many of the young Blues building solid reputations, things remain largely positive.

Gael Kakuta was ineligible to take part for Bolton in their Sunday mauling by Chelsea because of Premier League loan rules, but Patrick van Aanholt continued at left-back for Wigan Athletic, and appears to be first choice for the time being.

Things may change when the Latics have one or two injured centre-backs available again, but for now the Dutchman is playing and playing well. Despite a 2-0 defeat at Villa Park on Saturday he had a decent showing and stands a good chance of continuing as a part of Roberto Martinez’ plans.

Doncaster continued their revival in The Championship under new manager Dean Saunders by taking four points from six this week, but whilst Milan Lalkovic played fifteen minutes as a substitute on Tuesday against Hull, he was an unused member of the bench at Peterborough on Saturday.

It appears uncertain as to whether Saunders rates the Slovakian, and it would seem unlikely that his spell is extended beyond the middle of the month, with just one start in six weeks at the Keepmoat Stadium to his name so far.

Results are back on the up for Sam Walker and Northampton however, as the giant stopper returned to the scene of his first spell in professional football with a 2-1 win at Barnet this weekend.

The Cobblers are moving up the table after an inconsistent start to the campaign but Walker had another good performance at Underhill and is set to continue as very much the club’s first choice in goal.

Moving our attentions abroad, Tomas Kalas conceded for the first time in Eredivisie action as a part of Vitesse’s defence as the Arnhem side conceded a late equaliser on Saturday night against Heerenveen.

The Czech has been outstanding so far, but Mexican forward Ulises Dávila is taking a little longer to settle in and was an unused substitute in the 1-1 draw.

In Germany, Jeffrey Bruma continues to deputise for the injured Michael Mancienne at the heart of the Hamburg defence but struggled to deal with the talented Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for much of the afternoon.

His national team compatriot notched both goals as Schalke won against the managerless HSV, but Technical Director Frank Arnesen is set to name a new chief during the international break.

Much better news from Spain though, as Thibaut Courtois returned to his best form with another clean sheet at home to Sevilla. The Belgian shipped five away to Barcelona last week but has otherwise been in exemplary form, and after conceding a late equaliser in midweek Europa League action away to Rennes, he shut out Sevilla in a Man of the Match performance this evening.

Finally, Matej Delac has still not been able to force his way into Ceske Budejovice’s starting eleven and sat on the bench for their goalless draw away to Hradec Králové, their second consecutive clean sheet.

Reserve team right-back Todd Kane has finally earned the right to call himself an England youth international after being called up to the Under-19 squad this weekend.

The 18 year-old first-year pro missed out on initial selection but has been given the nod by Noel Blake as an injury replacement and will join team-mates Nathaniel Chalobah and Jamal Blackman in the Three Lions’ team for the Limoges Tournament in mid October.

It is a much deserved honour for a young man who has had an outstanding twelve months, making the rise from fledgling first-year scholar to exciting reserve team prospect making a run at first team involvement.

Kane averages a goal every three matches from defence, although he does often feature further up the pitch in midfield, and grabbed a headed brace against Everton last Monday afternoon to take his tally to twelve goals in blue colours since signing scholarship forms in July 2010.

He has thus far been overlooked for international consideration despite some stellar performances and some less than convincing alternative selections in his position, but he has now been given the chance to show what he can do.

News reached us here at TheChels late last week of a friendly between Arsenal and Chelsea at Under-18 level to be played at the Emirates Stadium.

We can now reveal that the match will take place on Sunday 23rd October, immediately after Arsenal’s first team take on Stoke in Premier League action. For Chelsea fans, that unfortunately clashes with the Blues’ much-anticipated trip to Loftus Road to play QPR, but the match is nonetheless intriguing.

Both clubs have the weekend off from Premier Academy League action as part of their schedule and have organised a high-profile friendly in front of what will hopefully be a healthy crowd, with fans allowed to stay in the stadium after the first team play.

It affords the teams with an opportunity to play at a top-class venue and in an atmosphere many will not have experienced before, whilst also giving extra exposure to youth team football and potentially gaining a new audience.

The two teams actually meet in league action at Cobham a week on Saturday and whilst Arsenal took the spoils in both league outings last season, winning 3-0 and 4-1 respectively, Chelsea won the high-profile FA Youth Cup clash between the sides at Stamford Bridge as two Milan Lalkovic goals took them through en route to the Semi Final.

In a five-team pre-season tournament hosted by Manchester United in August, it was once again the Blues coming out on top, as Adie Viveash’s young team won a frenetic affair by five goals to four.

Look out for more news on this throughout the month of October by following @chelseayouth on Twitter.

The keener youth and reserve team followers amongst you may have noticed that Portuguese midfielder Mesca (Buomesca Tué Na Bangna) has been absent from Chelsea’s junior selections so far this season.

Having featured at Crawley Town in pre-season, the 18 year-old has not been seen nor heard of since. It has emerged that the injury-troubled second-year scholar has signed professional terms with Fulham and is now their player.

Mesca, who was named in the Portuguese Under-19 squad for the upcoming Limoges Tournament which England – featuring Jamal Blackman and Nathaniel Chalobah – will take part in, is confirmed as a Fulham player on their official website and has agreed an initial one-year deal with the possibility of an extension.

It brings an end to an unfortunate time with the Blues for the youngster, who initially arrived as a sixteen year-old but suffered a serious knee injury shortly after joining. He was officially announced as a second-year scholar last summer and appeared fleetingly at Under-18 level in 2010-11, but suffered further ailments as well as some apparent off-field personal issues.

Perhaps a fresh start at a club which is increasingly on the up in Fulham will see Mesca flourish. Everyone at TheChels.net wishes him the best for the future.

After a slow start to the season, Chelsea’s young loanees exploded into action this past week, providing goals, assists and top performances for the first time in 2011-12.

Gael Kakuta and Jeffrey Bruma both notched maiden efforts for their new sides whilst Milan Lalkovic, Tomas Kalas and Thibaut Courtois have been in fine form as well.

We’ll start with the goalscorers and with Kakuta, who marked his first appearance in a Bolton Wanderers shirt with a goal away to Aston Villa in midweek Carling Cup action.

The French Under-20 international helped seal Wanderers’ place in Round Four with a lovely turn and snap-shot on the edge of the box which rifled into the back of the net. You can view the effort here.

Unfortunately for Kakuta, it wasn’t enough to warrant a start at Arsenal on Saturday, and he sat on the bench through the club’s ninth defeat in ten matches.

Bruma, meanwhile, was perhaps fortunate to have earned a starting place for basement-dwelling Hamburg SV on Friday night with Michael Mancienne going down injured, but the Dutchman more than took his chance.

He grabbed an equaliser for the troubled club – who sacked manager Michael Oenning this past week – with a glancing near post header from former Chelsea winger Gokhan Tore’s corner. You can watch that goal here.

Bruma’s performance was impressive as caretaker boss Rodolfo Cardoso led HSV to their first win of the season, a late Robert Tesche goal securing a 2-1 win at Stuttgart.

It was a busy week at home and abroad, with double action for many, including Vitesse duo Tomas Kalas and Ulises Dávila. The pair both started the KNVB Cup tie at home to NAC Breda, one which went all the way to penalties with the hosts prevailing 5-4.

Kalas completed the entire 120 minutes and was outstanding, whilst Dávila offered a little more than on his debut against Roda, and went off after 76 minutes with a good performance under his belt.

On Sunday Vitesse continued their good early season form with a win away to Excelsior. Dávila played the first half and whilst he got into good positions, ultimately contributed little. Kalas completed the 90 minutes in defence and played well, emerging as one of the talents of the first weeks of the season.

In Spain, Thibaut Courtois had little to do on Wednesday night in a routine 4-0 win over Sporting Gijon, but his impressive tally of just one goal conceded in five games for Atléti came to a juddering halt on Saturday as he faced the imperious Barcelona.

There was little that the teenage Belgian could do about the five goals his team shipped, and indeed but for him the final score could well have been worse.

Back in England, Patrick van Aanholt continues to start for Wigan in his favoured left-back spot, but the Latics suffered in moving Maynor Figueroa to centre-back on Saturday as the Honduran was at fault for both goals in a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.

Patrick has had a solid if unspectacular start to his spell at the DW Stadium and at the very least should be positive that he is playing regular football, something desperately needed at this stage of his career.

Milan Lalkovic extended his stay at Doncaster Rovers for another month this week and celebrated with a Man of the Match performance in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Rovers sacked manager Sean O’Driscoll on Friday and replaced him with Dean Saunders, and whilst the Welshman only gave Lalkovic half an hour from the bench, it was all he needed to make his mark.

A performance displaying all of the hallmarks regular watchers of Chelsea’s reserve team will be familiar with left Donny fans clamouring to see more from Lalkovic, starting with their next match on Tuesday against Hull City.

Ben Gordon’s spell at Peterborough ended prematurely this week, with Chelsea recalling him early after being less than satisfied with his playing time at London Road.

In League Two, Sam Walker lost a clean sheet late in the game at home to Dagenham & Redbridge but was still on the winning side for Northampton Town and contines to make steady progress at Sixfields Stadium.

We’ll finish in the Czech Republic, where Matej Delac did not feature for the second week in a row for Ceske Budejovice, who gained an impressive point in a goalless draw against Champions League outfit Viktoria Plzen.

If it’s entertainment and goals you’re after, following Chelsea’s Under-18 team so far this season will have been well worth your time.

The Blues had been involved in five games totalling twenty-six successful efforts at goal prior to today and served up another six this morning as they shared the spoils with Ipswich Town.

Defensive frailties have thus far stopped Adie Viveash’s boys from picking up points as despite plenty of attacking prowess, they have been far too accomodating at the other end and it would prove thus again against the Tractor Boys.

Viveash made four changes from last weekend’s tumultuous trip to Watford, bringing Nathan Ake, Archange Nkumu, Anjur Osmanovic and Tom Howard in for Jordan Houghton, Nathaniel Chalobah, John Swift and Todd Kane.

Ipswich lined up with a side of comparable physical stature to their hosts, something which is often not the case in academy league football. They adopted a high-tempo pressing game and often overloaded numbers in attack, which caused problems for the Chelsea defenders.

Captain Nkumu had the first effort of the match with a header straight at the goalkeeper from Lewis Baker’s corner. Baker is set to serve a three-match ban for his part in the fracas at Watford but the suspension doesn’t start until October 1st, allowing him to play today.

Blues stopper Mitchell Beeney then had to be alert to bail out his defenders after some less than exemplary play handed a fine chance to Byron Lawrence, but Beeney was able to take the ball off his foot sprawling in front of him.

Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been in fine goalscoring form so far this season and the schoolboy was presented with a gilt-edged chance after a quarter of an hour, but could only send his effort over the crossbar when well placed inside the box.

Instead, the visitors took the lead midway through the first half. Confusion over which way the referee had awarded a set piece meant that left-back Adam Nditi was caught out of position, and despite having recovered his ground was less than prepared to challenge for the resulting delivery.

Jonny Leddy beat him to the ball and send a looping header over Beeney from twelve yards out.

The goal signalled the start of a frenetic ten-minute spell during which Chelsea restored order before falling behind again.

Loftus-Cheek grabbed the equaliser with his fourth in six games when he applied a tidy volleyed finish to Ali Gordon’s deep hanging cross. It was a fine flowing move finished in emphatic style by an emerging schoolboy talent.

However, the Blues became their own worst enemy moments later when they failed to clear their lines and handed a chance to the lively Lawrence.

Beeney was able to parry his effort but couldn’t hold onto the ball, merely presenting it to Caolan Lavery, who gladly picked up the pieces for his fourth goal of the season.

Ipswich would take the lead into the half time break and were good value for it, showing more discipline off the ball and plenty of hard work and drive with it.

Viveash introduced Alex Kiwomya ahead of the resumption of play in relief of Osmanovic, who had been quiet, and was no doubt hoping for another impactful performance from a player who has made plenty of headlines in recent weeks.

With a renewed vigour and a determination to get back into the game Chelsea flew out of the traps and Nkumu tested the Town goalkeeper with a stinging long-range try which earned a corner.

Ismail Seremba then dragged a shot wide in a rare moment of opportunity for him. He had been dealt with well in the first half by the towering Jide Maduako but now, with Kiwomya alongside him, he was finding space to play in.

Unfortunately, they were soon to be staring a two-goal deficit in the face. Ake’s backpass was woefully short, allowing sub Jack Simmons to pounce and beat Beeney for a deserved goal and a 3-1 lead.

The strike was eerily reminiscent of Mitch Hancox’s strike for Birmingham in the last home game and is clearly an area the team (and individuals) need to work on.

Baker had a tame effort saved in response and after Kiwomya’s vociferous penalty appeal was turned down, Chelsea were handed a way back into the match as another shout for a spot kick was successful.

Good play down the right saw Gordon break onto a loose ball in the box, and as the right-back arrived first to the ball he was felled for a routine penalty decision. Baker stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way for his first goal of the season.

Seconds later and Chelsea were inches away from parity. Kiwomya broke clear but was denied by the Ipswich goalkeeper’s sweeping ability.

His clearing skills were not quite so good though and he merely picked out Loftus-Cheek, who chipped the ball back over his head but watched agonisingly as it hit the crossbar and bounced back out.

An all-action game was now taking a toll physically, so Viveash threw on Swift and Sam Bangura to replace Rohan Ince and Nkumu, with Nditi taking over as captain.

The team now featured just first-year scholars and schoolboys and their enthusiasm and fearlessness came to the fore as the game ticked into the final quarter.

Ipswich had conceded ground but still adopted a high defensive line, which threatened to be their downfall on more than one occasion as Kiwomya played on the shoulder of the last man, but never quite got the delivery to match the run.

Town had one or two chances to put the game to bed but by hook or by crook Chelsea found a way to come away unscathed. Nditi, meanwhile, struck a thunderous effort from close range which hit the post and remarkably left the frame of the goal intact; such was the ferocity of the effort.

With less than five minutes to go, the hosts grabbed themselves a deserved share of the spoils as Baker’s corner caused problems at the back and under pressure from Ake, Ipswich defender Acott could do little other than bundle the ball over his own line.

Chelsea really should have then won the game as Kiwomya finally got the pass he was after, breaking clear on goal from the left side, but his shot was poor and easily saved.

The youth team’s top goalscorer can be forgiven for going for goal but did have Loftus-Cheek rampaging up alongside him and an unselfish pass may have resulted in the decisive fourth goal.

As it was, the full time whistle meant it was just the six goals in the end as a morning of thoroughly decent entertainment drew to a close with the points shared.

All five of Chelsea’s points so far have been earned from losing positions, whilst in two of their three defeats they have hauled themselves back into the game before succumbing to defeat.

There’s plenty of spirit and fight on show. If everything else comes together, there’s plenty of positives to be building on after half a dozen games for this new intake of academy scholars.

Team: Beeney, Gordon, Ince (Bangura 65), Ake, Nditi, Loftus-Cheek, Nkumu (Swift 60), Osmanovic (Kiwomya 45), Howard, Baker, Seremba

Goals: Loftus-Cheek 26, Baker 58 ‘pen, Own Goal ‘88
Booked: Nkumu

Late September invariably means a new England Under-16 generation is presented to the world for the first time as Kenny Swain and his group gear up for the annual Sky Sports Victory Shield during the closing months of the year.

In recent years Chelsea have had an excellent presence in the schoolboy squad and this year is no exception, with four Blues youngsters making the cut for the first squad to play Northern Ireland in mid October.

Defenders Ola Aina and Aaron Hayden are joined by midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the attack-minded Connor Hunte in Swain’s 18-man party, with no other club featuring more than two players.

The young quartet took part in the annual Under-16 training camp at Keele University during early August (which featured some 40 of the nation’s premier young footballers) and were joined by team-mates Alex Kiwomya and Charlie Colkett, who have not been included in the first squad of the season but are expected to play against either Wales or Scotland.

All six were part of Chelsea’s squad which took part in the Manchester United Premier Cup during the summer, a competition in which the club finished fourth as Europe’s highest-placed team.

Joe Edwards’ team dominated the regional UK Finals in May and went into the finals in Manchester as favourites, but after dominant group stage performances they fell to eventual winners Pachuca in the Semi Finals.

However, their performances did not go unnoticed as England scouts came away enamoured with the ability on show and they will now be able to showcase it with the Three Lions on their chest.

Naturally, as the boys are all under the age of sixteen it’s only appropriate to talk about them in so much detail, but Loftus-Cheek in particular has made progress beyond his age group and has played very well for Adie Viveash’s Under-18 team so far this season, scoring three goals and playing in all three midfield roles and at centre-back.

The captain of the Premier Cup side, he received England calls last season but twice had to pull out with injury problems which curtailed much of his club involvement during 2010-11.

Last season saw six Chelsea academy prospects play for Swain as Jordan Houghton, Fankaty Dabo, John Swift, Ali Gordon, George Cole and Reece Mitchell played key roles in victorious tournaments at home and abroad.

The Blues also had captains at every England age group except Under-19, and have an astounding 24 players on their books who have played for the country’s national team.

Four more boys have been handed their chance as the future looks increasingly blue.

A handful of Chelsea youngsters made debuts for their new clubs this past week but we’re still awaiting notable impacts from many as we take another look at how the loan boys are getting on.

Whilst Gael Kakuta sat on Bolton’s substitutes bench for the second week in a row, Patrick van Aanholt made his Wigan bow and slotted straight into a typical attacking left-back role, making an impact at both ends of the pitch.

In the midweek Carling Cup tie against Crystal Palace, he was a rare bright spark in an otherwise terrible team performance and came close to a debut goal when his fiercely-struck shot came crashing back off the crossbar.

He followed that with another strong outing in his first ever Premier League start, as whilst the Latics fell to a 3-1 defeat away to Everton, the Dutch Under-21 international got forwards well, twice going close to scoring, and held his own in defence.

Kakuta, meanwhile, did get a run-out for Bolton’s reserves in a midweek 3-3 draw against Arsenal, and with Owen Coyle’s team struggling for form must be hoping to get his chance sooner rather than later.

In the Championship, Ben Gordon was absent from Peterborough’s 2-0 win over Burnley as an unfortunate casualty of being lost in the numbers shuffle. Whereas Football League clubs could previously name seven substitutes, they may now only name five and as such Ben was left out of the matchday squad.

Milan Lalkovic was a second-half substitute for Doncaster Rovers as the basement-dwellers continued to struggle, going down 2-0 at Reading.

The Slovakian has done well in spells in his month at the Keepmoat Stadium but is now likely to return to Stamford Bridge until the turn of the year.

Sam Walker has been perhaps Chelsea’s most successful loanee of the season to date and the Northampton Town goalkeeper followed up last weekend’s third clean sheet of the campaign with a fourth in midweek, shutting out Wimbledon in a 3-0 win.

Gary Johnson’s side lost 3-1 to Macclesfield at the weekend but Walker was in good form and has been one of the Cobblers’ best players to date.

In Germany, Jeffrey Bruma scored his first goal for Hamburg with a free kick in a midweek stroll against amateur side Concordia but was an unused substitute for their 0-1 Bundesliga defeat at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, a result which leaves the club rooted to the bottom of the table.

Better news from the Netherlands, however, as Ulises Dávila and Tomas Kalas both made their Vitesse Arnhem debuts in an emphatic 5-0 rout of Roda JC on Saturday night.

Mexican winger Dávila completed an hour and looked the part even if he wasn’t directly involved in much, but Kalas had an oustanding game in defence, displaying maturity and athleticism, and was named the player of the round by some national media.

He went off with a slight knock ten minutes from time but will take heart from a very impressive start.

In Spain, Thibaut Courtois successfully shut out Celtic in Europa League action in Atlético Madrid’s 2-0 midweek win, and had a very comfortable 4-0 weekend victory over Racing Santander. With four clean sheets in five matches, it’s been a strong start for the young Belgian.

Finally, to the Czech Republic, where Matej Delac will play for Dynamo Ceske Budejovice this season. The Croatian teenager was an unused sub on Saturday for a 2-0 defeat to FC Slovacko, but with the club bottom of the table and struggling defensively, he should see plenty of playing time.

Chelsea’s Under-18s battled back from two red cards in the opening fifteen minutes of their match away to Watford on Saturday morning to claim a share of the spoils, with two schoolboys on the scoresheet.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek had given Adie Viveash’s boys the lead after a chaotic start to affairs which saw Lewis Baker sent off for violent conduct with a Watford player also receiving his marching orders.

Minutes later Nathaniel Chalobah, playing in a midfield role, was also dismissed in less than convincing circumstances. Facing the best part of 75 minutes playing a man down, Chelsea battled hard but conceded an equaliser close to half time and fell behind early in the second half.

However, they showed fantastic fight and resolve to earn a point when substitute Alex Kiwomya notched his fourth goal of the season to make the final score 2-2.

The two goalscorers are both still a year shy of scholarship deals but have combined for seven goals in the first five matches of the season and have been in particularly impressive form.

The Blues now have four points from their five opening ‘distance’ fixtures and can look forward to getting stuck into Group A competition next Saturday against Ipswich Town.

Team: Beeney, Gordon, Houghton, Ince, Nditi, Swift, Chalobah (c), Loftus-Cheek, Baker, Kane, Seremba
Goals: Loftus-Cheek ’10, Kiwomya ’88
Sent Off: Baker, Chalobah