Chelsea have started their Carabao Cup campaign on a winning note. They came out on top of fellow English Club Barrow.
The Blues registered a dominating victory over Barrow with a staggering 5-0 scoreline. The Premier League giants wanted to continue their winning streak after defeating their London rivals West Ham 3-0.
Maresca’s side have only lost their opening Premier League game against title holders Manchester City. They have either won their games or managed to get a draw. Enzo has also seen his team winning with huge scorelines such as 6-2 against Wolves and 5-0 against Barrow.
Stephen Clemence was also hopeful about starting Barrow’s EFL cup campaign strong but failed. The manager was particularly disappointed in his team’s defensive capabilities as they conceded too many goals. Brrow currently sits on the top of the League 2 table.
Chelsea were already leading the match 3-0 inside the first hour of the game. The scoring was initiated by Christopher Nkukunku who later went on and converted his brace into a hattrick. A stunner free kick from Joao Felix led to an unfortunate own goal from Barrow’s goalkeeper Paul Furman.
Attacker Pedro Neto also scored quickly after the first half. The goals came in easy for the Blues as Barrow defensively was very loose. Stephen Clemence’s men lost almost all the duels against Mareca’s men. Chelsea also maintained more ball possession and accurate passing throughout the game.
Positive and negatives for Chelsea
There were major positive points that Chelsea will take out of the EFL Cup game. Although there were some areas where manager Enzo Maresca needs to look out.
Chelsea led their strong attacking lineup with Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto. All of the above players made some contribution in registering this massive win. Nkunku scored a brilliant hattrick while Neto provided an early goal in the second half. Joao Felix although not on the score sheet, did force an own goal from the opponent keeper.
The Blues still have a lot of their players injured. They will be hoping that their players soon get well as the competition intensifies as it progresses. The captain Reece James is still out and is expected to join them soon.
Another positive for Chelsea is the return of another youngster Malo Gusto. The right-back suffered an injury while playing against Crystal Palace before the international break. The French defender had a major part in helping Nkunku score his brace against Barrow.
Gusto’s involvement in the squad provided a certain depth to the team’s defence. The gap of a dedicated defender was seriously missing as captain Reece James is still out of the squad.
There were not many negatives for the Blues but some points will sting the team. The young duo of Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George were not in their best of forms in the game.
George did miss a golden chance to score his first goal for the Blues. Josh had a hard time against Barrow’s left winger Katia Kouyate. The duo’s performance proved why Maresca opted to go with an experienced squad in previous matches.
Maresca’s analysis of his team’s performance
Chelsea won their EFL cup match against Barrow 5-0. The manager Enzo Maresca was more than happy with his team’s performance.
the Blues were already three up in the first half an hour of the game. This early lead put the manager in a relaxed position. After leading with three goals Enzo just encouraged his players to play their game.
After the starting attacking lineup set up the high-scoring game Enzo had nothing but praise for his forwards according to Rtenews he said-
” I’m very happy for Joao, Christo and Pedro. They all deserve to start in the Premier League. The way they take their chances is just fantastic”.
Maresca also emphasized the importance of his backup player. these mainly include youngsters such as Acheampong and Tyrique. he said that the contributions of these youngsters must not go unnoticed. The youngsters have helped fill the gaps in the Chelsea camp.
Chelsea will continue their Premier League campaign against Brighton on September 28.
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