Chelsea’s Under-21s lost for just the third time this season on Monday night as they were defeated 2-1 by an experienced Manchester United team at Leigh Sports Village. A disappointingly cagey first half gave way to a far more entertaining second in which Dominic Solanke opened the scoring to give the Blues a deserved lead. Andreas Pereira’s deflected free kick restored parity in the 69th minute before another delivery from…
The Loan Report: February 2-8
After a few weeks of handing things over to the supporting cast, Chelsea’s top two loan performers of the season return to centre stage in this week’s Loan Report. Patrick Bamford and Bertrand Traore have stood out for their all-round performances as much as their goalscoring antics and the left-footed duo were both on target this past weekend. Headliners Bamford was held off the scoresheet last time out against Brentford…
Under-18s: Chelsea 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Chelsea’s Under-18s became the first team to book their place in the league’s top tier to fight for the national academy title after beating Brighton 2-1 at Cobham on a cold Saturday morning. First half goals by Hubert Adamczyk and Isaac Christie-Davies proved enough to secure all three points for the Blues, and they held out against a spirited Albion fight back during the second half in which Ben White…
Under-21s: Chelsea 5-3 Southampton
Chelsea roared back to the top of the Barclays Under-21 Premier League on Monday night as they beat Southampton 5-3 at Stamford Bridge. They did the damage in a blistering first-half spell where they dismantled the Saints to the tune of five goals in 36 minutes, and from there it was a case of making sure they saw the victory out. Southampton mounted a credible fight back with one goal…
The Loan Report: January 26 – February 1
For the fourth week in succession, and the fifth time in the last six, we’re able to kick off the Loan Report with a goal scored by an English Chelsea prospect. And, for the first time this season, we lead off with the exploits of Nathaniel Chalobah. Headliners Chalobah has had to overcome the unexpected disappointment of being denied a loan move to French club Bordeaux following a curious administrative…
FA Youth Cup: Chelsea 6-0 Swansea City
Chelsea’s strong FA Youth Cup pedigree continued on Wednesday night as they booked a place in the Quarter Finals for the sixth season in a row courtesy of a 6-0 win over Swansea City at Aldershot’s Electrical Services Stadium. Tammy Abraham led the way with a hat-trick whilst Dominic Solanke wasn’t far behind with a brace of his own, taking the pair to a remarkable combined fifty for the season…
Room for Bamford?
Every season, up to thirty Chelsea youngsters go on the loan trail, looking for first team experience, carrying with them the feint hope that one day Chelsea and Jose Mourinho will deem them good enough for the first team. As ever, some loan moves are more successful than others. Some of Chelsea’s best young prospects have gone to clubs and failed to enhance their reputation. Chalobah had one to forget…
The Loan Report: January 19-25
Another week, another goal, and another for Patrick Bamford. The England Under-21 forward hit the headlines like almost never before this weekend as his contributions helped Middlesbrough overcome Manchester City away from home in the FA Cup. Headliners Boro went into the clash some 10-1 underdogs but there was always an inkling that they had the tools to get the job done and they did just that, coming away from…
On Youngsters, Opportunities, Frustration and Reality
Andreas Christensen played the full ninety minutes for Chelsea in their surprise FA Cup defeat at the hands of Bradford on Saturday. He did well regardless of the result, as he did in the League Cup tie at Shrewsbury earlier this season. Remarkably though, he was only the second academy player to start an FA Cup tie against an opponent from the third tier or below in the last ten…
Under-21s: West Ham United 1-3 Chelsea
Chelsea went back to the top of the Under-21 Premier League after an emphatic 3-1 victory away to West Ham United in Romford on Friday night. All of the damage was done in the first half as Kasey Palmer’s impudent flick opened the scoring before a quick-fire brace from Dominic Solanke put the Blues out of sight by the interval. Sebastian Lletget grabbed a goal for West Ham early in…