Chelsea only played one youth player against a Bournemouth side that made seven changes from their most recent Premier League XI. Ethan Ampadu was the Blues’ man of the match in a game that was messier, tighter and more worrisome than it should have been.
If Andreas Christensen is the next John Terry, what does that make Ethan Ampadu? Ampadu made his second appearance in Chelsea’s starting XI against Bournemouth, and put in a performance his teammates should be envious of. Ampadu’s future – his position, his career path, his place at Chelsea – will be the subject of much debate, but his showing in the Carabao Cup is beyond dispute.
The rest of the Blues, though, have little to brag about. They advanced to meet Arsenal in the semi-finals next month, but did not do anything to build Chelsea’s confidence for any of their competitions.