Antonio Conte showed his trust in Michy Batshuayi twice on Tuesday: first by starting him, and then by leaving him in for 90 minutes. Batshuayi rewarded that latter act with Chelsea’s final two goals against Qarabag.
Michy Batshuayi’s Champions League debut mirrored his first season at Chelsea. For more than two-thirds of the game against Qarabag, Batshuayi’s efforts ended in frustration and fruitlessness. Like last season, Batshuayi responded to those initial disappointments by trying even harder, until he was trying too hard. When instinct and flair failed he shifted to brute force and will. But all that did was set him further in a hole.
Shortly after the hour mark against Qarabag, Alvaro Morata started warming up as Chelsea’s third substitute. Batshuayi was visibly dejected as Morata jogged and skipped the touchline. The Belgian slowed his pace, hung his head and waited to see “23” in red on the fourth official’s board.
Tiemoue Bakayko intervened at just the right moment. Eight minutes after coming on, Chelsea’s second substitution made the score 4-0. With the goal differential where Antonio Conte wanted it, he sat Morata back on the bench and readied Antonio Rudiger instead.
Batshuayi’s posture, mood, movement and play immediately surged. Secure in the knowledge that he would notch 90 minutes on his debut and that Chelsea had accomplished their commanding win, Batshuayi thrived free of pressure. Within a minute of Rudiger’s entrance, Bakayoko set up Batshuayi for his first Champions League goal. Six minutes later, Batshuayi powered another ball at the net that took a large deflection and went down as a Qarabag own goal.
After the game, Antonio Conte spoke of his trust in his young players.
"I wanted to give a good chance to Michy, and also to [Andreas] Christensen. To play in the Champions League means the coach trusts you. My message tonight was this. I trust all my players, not only with words but with facts. – Chelsea FC"
After last season, Batshuayi may understandably not trust Antonio Conte’s trust. Despite Diego Costa’s poor play and worse attitude in the second half of 2016/17, Michy Batshuayi could do nothing to earn his way into the XI until he scored the title-clinching goal.
In his few opportunities to impress before that night at West Bromwich Albion, Batshuayi repressed the best elements of his game and his personality: panache, instinct and timing. Once the pressure lifted and Chelsea had only rubber matches remaining, Batshuayi ran rampant in his final few games. He finished with one of the best goals-per-minute rates in Europe, which obscured how much he invested to create those moments.
Michy Batshuayi will have to learn how to control his reaction to pressure and consequences. The stakes will only rise as the season progresses. If he struggles to keep his head up – literally and figuratively – against Qarabag, Antonio Conte will be reluctant to trust him in the knock-out rounds.
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Hopefully Antonio Conte will continue to demonstrate – with words and with facts – his trust in Michy Batshuayi. He did it twice against Qarabag, and his second act produced the reward. A coach’s trust goes a long way, and the sooner Batshuayi internalizes that trust and truly believes it the sooner he will start scoring in the opening stages of a game or a campaign.