Chelsea’s loan army provides the weekend’s only highlights (Video)

Most of Chelsea’s 38 loanees are far from ready for the Premier League, but they would at least play their hearts out if given the chance. That’s well more than 10 of Antonio Conte’s starting XI could say.

Chelsea fans may need to hunker down for a long spell before the Blues return to their trophy-winning ways. The future looks brighter than ever because the present and the near-term are pretty bleak.

Fortunately, Chelsea have a ready-made glimpse into the future with the Blue loan army. With 38 players on loan around the world, inevitably a few will score each weekend. Since the first team gave so little to celebrate at Emirates, a journey through the Championship, Eredivisie and other leagues provide some much needed cheer.

Let’s dispense with the formalities right up front. Tammy Abraham scored for Bristol City, his 10th of the season and his second this week against Fulham. He scored unusually early in the game, getting the Robins started in the 10th minute en route to a 4-0 win.

At the other end of the goal-scoring spectrum, Michael Hector ripped in a header from 12 yards out to equalize for Eintracht Frankfurt in injury time. The last time Hector made the headlines was when he received red cards in consecutive games to start the season. Hector’s goal (1:45 mark in video) keeps Frankfurt level on points but behind on goal differential to Chelsea’s top Bundesliga loan destination, Borussia Monchengladbach.

Bertrand Traore scored his first league goal for Ajax. Traore’s goal was his club’s fourth en route to a 5-1 win that moved them into second place, six points ahead of Vitesse.

Isaiah Brown opened the scoring as Rotherham United took on Cardiff City. Cardiff City responded not long after, and defeated Brown’s side 2-1.

Next: Arsenal take target practice on apathetic Chelsea

Did we miss any goal-scorers from the loan army? Were there any solid performances that did not show up on a score sheet?