Chelsea advanced into the next round of the Carabao Cup thanks a 2-1 victory against Everton.
Antonio Conte named a heavily rotated side with Danny Drinkwater making his Chelsea debut.
Ethan Ampadu also made his first start in what was a very different looking Chelsea XI.
A header from Antonio Rudiger in the first half put the Blues in front before Willian scored Chelsea’s second of the game to put their name in the hat for the next round, despite a late goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Everton piled the pressure on throughout the second half but the Premier League champions held on.
Here’s a few things we learned from the cup win.
Great goal for Rudiger
The commanding German central defender has kind of gone under the radar since joining the club this summer.
It was great to see him rewarded with a fantastic goal against Everton with a header that he made look all too simple.
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of getting underneath that and redirecting the ball towards goal.
It’s been an equally difficult time for him following yet more racist abuse from the fans of his former side, Roma, when the two teams met in the Champions League. A goal he well and truly deserved.
Drinkwater to be Cesc Fabregas 2.0
Chelsea fans got their first glimpse of Danny Drinkwater in the Blue shirt on Wednesday night.
His performance could be described as routine. The former Leicester City didn’t do much to write home about, but that’s not his job in the centre of the park.
It was clear to see very early on that he will be Cesc Fabregas’ number two. From the off he was looking for the lofted, over the top pass to set Michy Batshuayi in behind the defence.
It came off less times than he would’ve hoped but the understanding between his new team mates is clearly already there.
Drinkwater looked like an assured signing in the summer, now he has get back up to speed in the Premier League and there will undoubtedly be a role for him at Stamford Bridge this season.
Is squad depth that much of an issue?
The one problem Chelsea are always labelled with is their lack of squad depth, but how much of an issue is it?
Conte was forced to rotate against the Toffees, but both Willian and Batshuayi came into the side, Charly Musonda provided speed and unpredictability out wide, as well having the likes of Andreas Christensen, someone who can feel hard done by to have not started more games.
Ethan Ampadu, who was playing League Two football at the start of the season, has adjusted to life at Chelsea with ease and looks as composed as Drinkwater, who he played alongside, despite being 10 years his junior.
Willian steps up
The Brazilian has come in for some criticism in recent weeks after some questionable performances, which has seen him lose his place in the starting XI.
He was very much a senior figure in the Chelsea attack on Wednesday night, playing alongside Musonda and Batshuayi.
Willian stepped up when he needed to do and combined excellently with Fabregas late on to score Chelsea’s second and secure a place in the next round, despite some late pressure from the Toffees.
