Having made hard work of the first leg, Chelsea breezed through to the Carabao Cup final with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Middlesbrough on Tuesday evening.
Sure, this was against a mid-table Championship side, but there was significant pressure on Chelsea heading into this game. Not only did the Blues rise to the occasion for arguably the first time in over a year, but they absolutely dazzled en route to silencing their critics.
Now unbeaten in their last nine home games, Chelsea feel as though they’re on the cusp of really putting the pieces together. Here are six takeaways from the latest victory.
Cole Palmer missed three sitters in the first leg but clearly came out here with a point to proove.
The summer signing pulled out some glorious skills and bagged two of Chelsea’s six goals, flashing the typical composure that, aside from the first leg, has earned him the nickname Cold Palmer to go along with his celebration.
Palmer already has more goals this season (11) across all competitions than any Chelsea player managed last year. Since Eden Hazard’s departure in 2019, Tammy Abraham’s 18 strikes in 47 games in 2019/20 has stood as the club’s single-season record, but Palmer is on pace to break that.
From Cold to Chilly.
Ben Chilwell made his first start in fourth months after returning from injury, lining up at left-back instead of the unusual left-wing position in which he began the campaign, and it immediately became clear just how important he is to Chelsea.
The captain on the evening, Chilwell bombed forward with real passion and intelligence. He wasn’t far off scoring (or winning a penalty) early on, wreaking havoc in a role which saw him play in defence, midfield and attack all at once.
Chelsea have sorely missed that influence this season, but hopefully Chilwell is here to stay now.
In Chilwell’s absence (and even before), it was Levi Colwill who was deployed at left-back. The 20-year-old is a sublime footballer but, with all due respect, he has been sorely wasted out wide.
The difference in impact between Colwill and Chilwell at left-back is almost night and day, which is largely to be expected since one of them is not actually a left-back. Colwill was returned to his native centre-back role against Boro and quickly flashed exactly what he can offer in that position.
Solid defensively, involved in possession and even confident enough to bark at Thiago Silva when the veteran handed him a dodgy pass, there’s a reason Colwill was touted as one of Europe’s best young centre-backs last season. Let’s leave him in that position from now on, shall we?
Despite Chelsea’s dazzling attacking display, Mykhailo Mudryk failed to impress and was hooked at the break after an uncomfortable first 45 minutes.
Mudryk seemed to attract the frustration of a handful of his teammates, who were visibly shouting at the winger and urging him to make certain runs. While a language barrier likely requires more animated instructions than usual, the constant sight of waving arms in Mudryk’s direction grew a little tiresome.
The natural talent is there, but Mudryk is yet to figure out how to carry that over into fluid performances at the top level. There’s only so long Chelsea can wait for him to figure it out.
Having lost Malo Gusto to muscle overload stemming from largely a refusal to rest the Frenchman, it felt like Mauricio Pochettino would be keen to protect his stars once it became clear this tie was over.
Chelsea went 4-0 up at the half-time break and were clearly going to breeze to victory, but Pochettino’s only substitution midway through the game was to swap Mudryk with Noni Madueke. Alfie Gilchrist correctly replaced Chilwell on the hour mark, but 18-year-old Leo Castledine had to wait until the 85th minute to replace Raheem Sterling and make his well-deserved debut.
Did Sterling really need 85 minutes? Did Palmer need to complete the full 90 and finish the game as a striker while Deivid Washington went unused on the bench?
The pressure on Pochettino is obviously huge, but opportunities to make life a little easier for yourself don’t come around often at this level. The fact he wanted a five-goal cushion before taking the tiny risk of handing out a debut speaks volumes.
The story of Chelsea over the past few years has been clear. The Blues can create enough chances to win games but usually have a torrid time when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net.
Across last season’s 50 games, Chelsea managed just 50 goals. They have already beaten that tally this year, netting 51 times in 28 outings.
The progress is clear to see. Chelsea are moving in the right direction.
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