Chelsea's forgotten £45m star spotted at Stamford Bridge for the time this season in heavy Barrow win
Chelsea put up a brilliant all-round performance to beat League One side Barrow and progress to the next round.
Chelsea continued to go from strength to strength, producing an all-round performance to beat League One side Barrow 5-0 and progress to the fourth round of the League Cup, where they await the draw. The manager had hinted at rotating the squad, with Ben Chilwell given the entire second half to play.
This was the first time the England international had been spotted at Stamford Bridge this season, having been relegated to train with the ‘bomb squad’ and told he would not be part of the team.
In what has been a complete turnaround, Chilwell stayed behind while the likes of Raheem Sterling and Trevoh Chalobah, both of whom trained with him during the transfer window, left. Today, for the first time, he was not only included in the team but also got to play at Stamford Bridge.
Before tonight, Chilwell, who joined Chelsea for £45m from Leicester in 2020, last played on 20 April in the FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City at Wembley. In between, he has dealt with injuries and was almost forced out of the club.
As for the game, youngsters Tyrique George and Josh Acheampong were also introduced in the second half as Chelsea cruised into the next round of the League Cup . It was a perfect night for the Blues, who were relentless, with every player looking to get in on the goal-scoring action.
The performance reinforced what many have been saying about Chelsea recently: confidence and competition for places are both growing by the day.
Some will say it was only a League One side, but the beauty of cup games lies in their potential to be a slippery banana peel—and this one wasn’t, right from the first whistle. Christopher Nkunku, João Félix, and Pedro Neto made sure of that.