Chelsea secured their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a 4-0 victory at home to Championship side Preston. Here are five talking points from the game…
Gilchrist takes his opportunity
Embed from Getty ImagesChelsea gave an opportunity to youngster Aflie Gilchrist from the start against Preston having made a couple of appearances off the bench recently and the 20-year-old local lad certainly impressed during his hour on the pitch. It is not an easy situation to be thrust into, in a game where you’re not only expected to win but win comfortably, but he rose to the occasion with some fantastic bits of defending and looked composed on the ball. He looks like another player from Chelsea’s academy who could go onto have a great career in the game.
Broja steps up
With Nicolas Jackson away at the Africa Cup of Nations and Christopher Nkunku still getting up to speed after a long injury lay-off, there is more pressure on Armando Broja to contribute with goals if Chelsea are to improve on a disappointing first half of the season. It is certainly an encouraging sign to see him bury his first real chance of the game in the second half with a brilliant flicked header from Malo Gusto’s cross to put the Blues ahead and while his overall performance was nothing special, his clinical finishing was and set his side on the path to victory.
Chelsea still reliant on Silva’s experience
Embed from Getty ImagesBlues boss Mauricio Pochettino immediately turned to the bench to bring on Thiago Silva after seeing his side go 1-0 up and it is clear to see why. Chelsea had struggled to break down Preston’s low block until that point and it was a move to inject some experience onto the pitch and in defence to ensure his side maintained their lead. Not only did he do that, but he brilliantly headed in his side’s second from Cole Palmer’s corner to all but secure the win. At 39, his leadership and experience is still invaluable to this Chelsea team.
Patience pays off
Embed from Getty ImagesThe comfortable 4-0 scoreline does not tell the whole story of the game. The Blues were frustrated at half-time and went in at 0-0 having dominated possession but struggled to break down Preston’s low block. Pochettino could have made changes but to his credit, stuck with the game plan of controlling the game and waiting for a bit of quality to shine through and when it did, the floodgates opened to make it a straightforward win in the end.
Cups can still make this season a valuable one for Chelsea
Embed from Getty ImagesChelsea have underperformed again in the Premier League so far this season and it has not been the turnaround the club, fans and Pochettino himself were hoping for. But having already made it to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup and now into the fourth round of the FA Cup, winning silverware or at least making it to Wembley this season could still make it a valuable campaign for this young side, and one that in years to come could be looked back upon as crucial to the future success of the team.
