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Chelsea three lessons from a glorified Champions League friendly

By Travis Tyler

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 08: Billy Gilmour of Chelsea FC gestures during the UEFA Champions League Group E stage match between Chelsea FC and FC Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge on December 08, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 08: Billy Gilmour of Chelsea FC gestures during the UEFA Champions League Group E stage match between Chelsea FC and FC Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge on December 08, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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FK Krasnodar’s Dutch midfielder Tonny Vilhena (L) and Chelsea’s English midfielder Tino Anjorin vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group E football match between Chelsea and FK Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge in London on December 8, 2020. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
FK Krasnodar’s Dutch midfielder Tonny Vilhena (L) and Chelsea’s English midfielder Tino Anjorin vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group E football match between Chelsea and FK Krasnodar at Stamford Bridge in London on December 8, 2020. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP) (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea settled for honors even in a match that mattered to neither side in the Champions League. What lessons are learnt in a glorified friendly?

It was known beforehand that nothing was on the line after match day five. Chelsea was guaranteed first no matter what and Krasnodar was guaranteed Europa League no matter what. The Blues opted to rotate hard and give Tino Anjorin a Champions League debut and his first Chelsea start while bringing Billy Gilmour back to start for the first time since injury. Otherwise, it was a dull affair. What lessons were learnt from it?

1. By default, Tino Anjorin is this season’s academy breakout star

Anjorin got his debut last season, but this was his first Chelsea start and his first Champions League appearance. After a year plagued by injury on top of the restrictions between youth and first team football, he was finally able to cross the bridge against Krasnodar.

His performance was solid but unspectacular. It is not uncommon for young players early in their professional careers to play everything a bit too safe and that is more or less what happened. He didn’t do anything wrong by any means, but he also didn’t really do anything that wowed the crowd. It was a performance to build on, not one to write home about.

That being said, with those previously mentioned restrictions between first team and academy, Anjorin may just be this season’s breakout academy player by default. It is hard to shuttle a player back and forth and now that he is in, he’s in. With the injuries of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech and games coming thick and fast, he may just get more chances in the next month yet. His first appearance was fine, but his second or third is where he will really be able to shine.

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