Antonio Conte singled out Chelsea’s young players for praise after his side saw-off a determined Everton 2-1 to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
Stunning goals from Antonio Rudiger and Willian were enough to put Chelsea two to the good at Stamford Bridge, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled a deserved goal back for the manager-less visitors in the final minute on Wednesday.
And though Chelsea relied on Willy Caballero to keep a rejuvenated Everton – under the temporary charge of David Unsworth following Ronald Koeman’s sacking – at bay, Conte was delighted with the display.
“I think the performance was very good, above all in the first half when we created chances to score,” said Conte, who believes the EFL Cup is the ideal competition to hand Chelsea’s younger players first-team experience.
“Then in the second half, I think we suffered a bit, but I think it’s normal because Everton is a good team and they have just changed the coach, and usually in this type of situation the players want to try to give more.
“For this reason this game was very dangerous for us. But I’m very happy because tonight I saw a lot of positive things, above all the young players’ performance.
“I think tonight Charly Musonda and Kenedy and [Ethan] Ampadu, don’t forget he is only 17 years old, I think they played a good game.
“It’s very important to trust in these players, because I repeat they deserve to have this chance. And tonight I’m very happy because they had a good answer.
“It will be very difficult because there are a lot of the best teams. But we want to try to give the opportunity to our young players to have these type of games.
“Then you know you can take some risks, but if you want to develop young players you have to give them a chance to play a tough game.”
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