Praise for Ampadu after full debut
Boss Antonio Conte says Chelsea’s youngsters justified the faith he has in them by playing a full part in the 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Everton.
Goals from Antonio Rudiger and Willian were enough to see a Blues side also featuring Gary Cahill, Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater progress into the quarter-finals.
But inexperienced quartet Ethan Ampadu, 17, Charly Musonda, 20, and defenders Andreas Christensen and Kenedy, both 21, all impressed.
Conte said: “Charly, and Kenedy and Ampadu – and don’t forget he is only 17 years old – played a good game.
“It is very important to trust in these players because they deserve to have this chance. And I had a good answer and the answer I was waiting for.
“To see Ampadu is important because you know that if we have patience we have many young players we can work and improve. With young players we must have a lot of patience. The most important thing is that they must want to work.”
Conte was delighted with the way his side stood firm against an Everton side who improved dramatically in their first game under interim boss David Unsworth following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.
“The performance very good in the first half where we created chances to score,” Conte said. “In the second half we suffered a bit, but it is normal.
“When you play against Everton they are a good team and they have changed the coach so usually the players want to try and give more so the game was dangerous. But I am happy. I saw a lot of positive things, especially the young players’ performances.”
