Chelsea’s development side were hugely impressive, especially in the second half, as they thrashed Liverpool 4-1 on Monday evening.
The win was the Blues’ first in the newly-formed Premier League 2 and there were several stand-out performers. Here are three who especially caught the eye.
It was no surprise when diminutive midfielder Quintero opened the scoring as he had been excellent in the first half. The Ecuadorian teenager has great balance and his ability to drop a shoulder and evade a challenge is always obvious. Liverpool constantly struggled to deal with his jinking runs into the box and his ability to find pockets of space.
Sterling came on in leaps and bounds last season and his development has continued at the start of this season. Quick, strong and with genuine ability on the ball, he was an asset for Chelsea on the right-hand side, setting up the second goal and scoring the third when he caused panic in the Liverpool penalty area and then followed up to pounce on a goalkeeping error.
Scored the fourth goal when, in injury time, he skilfully controlled Charlie Wakefield’s cross and then finished emphatically. It was no more than the striker deserved for a bustling display in which he also helped set up a goal, won a penalty and generally never allowed the Liverpool defence to settle.