Busy Izzy
It has been a very busy weekend for Isaiah Brown. On Friday he was imperative to Chelsea’s winning performance against Roma in Nyon, Switzerland. Then on Saturday, as Loic Remy obtained an injury in training, Brown flew back to England to fill the void on the bench for Chelsea’s game at QPR on the Sunday. That was all it was, a bench slot. Later in the evening, flying back to Nyon ready for the final today. Myself and many other fans expected him to have accumulated fatigue, to struggle a bit against Shahktar Donetsk, but that’s the opposite of the outcome. Brown was once again man of the match, scoring 2 goals and leading Chelsea to win Uefa Youth League. Captain fantastic.
Brilliant Boga
Describing him would have you believe I was describing Eden Hazard. Low centre of gravity, incredible turn of pace, incredible close control and dribbling abilities, with a strong physique to fit. The versatile centre attacking midfielder played today on the left, often interchanging with Charley Musonda who was positioned in the centre. He had the beating of Shahktar’s right back all afternoon, often skipping past him with neat footwork and pace. Boga and Brown stood out as the two best on the day, with Boga unfortunate that only one player can be named MOTM. Boga’s day was capped of with two fantastic assists, scored by Dominic Solanke and Isaiah Brown.
Never Change a winning team
Chelsea started today with the same Starting XI as they did against Roma on Friday. Some may have expected a couple of changes with only Saturday and Sunday to rest between games. They started the game very strong, dominating the game for the first 15 minutes and scoring in the 7th minute. However seemed make the mistake often made by the first team, taking their foot off the gas and making the game hard for themselves. This allowedShahktar to come into the game, controlling the tempo and the rest of the second half which lead to their equalizer 10 minutes before the break. Chelsea though, came out after the break in another gear, 2 quick-fire goals within 8 minutes, restoring the lead at 3-1. After this, they were in cruise control. Slowing down the tempo, showboating and yet still creating numerous clear chances. Shahktar pulled a goal back to make it 3-2 but it was merely a consolation.
Champions of Europe
So, once again, Chelsea fly the flag for England, as the first team usually does, but this time proving to have the best academy in Europe. The young Blues only lost once on route to the trophy, 2-0 away at Schalke. Throughout the tournament they scored 35 goals, conceding only 6 in the 10 games they played. If this isn’t domination, I don’t know what is. On a personal level, Dominic Solanke finished the tournament as top goalscorer, with a very tidy 12 goals from 9 games, scoring in every round of the competition. This Chelsea team all have very bright futures ahead of them and I strongly believe we could see a minimum of 3 of these individuals in the Chelsea first team in a few years time.
Follow Samuel Kelly on Twitter: @Samuel_Kelly
