Chelsea 1-1 Stoke City - 5 Talking Points

#4 Chelsea youngsters flourish

Bertrand Traore celebrating his goal

Guus Hiddink chose to rest few of his key players in order to focus on the Champions League fixture in midweek. As Chelsea are not seriously involved in the league, it seemed like a risk worth taking. This was a golden opportunity for Chelsea’s famed starlets to make a claim for a spot in the first team.

Bertrand Traore replaced Diego Costa in the starting line-up and Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced Eden Hazard at around the hour mark. Both the academy players had a promising outing, especially Traore, who capped his evening with a fantastic goal. Along with them, Baba Rahman too had a decent evening after a series of unconvincing performances.

There was a clamor to instill young blood into this aging Chelsea setup during the time of Jose Mourinho. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This is evident under Hiddink who has revived Chelsea’s fortunes this season.