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90+2min: FULL TIME. Chelsea win!

89min: GOAL!! HUDSON-ODOI!! And CHO finally gets his as well, at the third or fourth time of asking, beating his man 1-v-1 and smashing it past the crestfallen goalkeeper. 7-1, CHELSEA!

88min: Grimsby get a couple sniffs at goal at the other end, but Zouma then Caballero block well.

86min: GOAL!! BATSHUAYI!! No messing about this time, as Chelsea play across from left to right, Pulisic finding Michy, who leathers it past the despairing goalkeeper. 6-1, CHELSEA!

83min: Barkley finds CHO and he’s 1-v-1 with the goalkeeper again, and is once again kept out! A bit frustrating.

82min: GOAL!!! JAMES!! Grimsby failed to clear the corner, and it eventually falls to Reece James, who curls it into the corner from 20 yards out. 5-1, CHELSEA!!!

81min: Gilmour with the latest seeing-eye throughball for Hudson-Odoi, who’s once again foiled by the goalkeeper.

79min: Anjorin nicks the ball and is 1-v-1 with the goalkeeper, but his touch takes him wide and he tries to play it back across for Batshuayi instead of trying the tight-angle shot. Grimsby scramble back to clear. Then, Hudson-Odoi just offside as Barkley finds him with a through ball in the area.

77min: Maatsen, in acres of space on the left, puts in a great cross, which finds Batshuayi, who spins and somehow doesn’t score. Hint of an offside, but a tremendous save from the goalkeeper.

75min: Anjorin tries a long shot, blocked. Pulisic tries a cross, blocked. Hudson-Odoi takes the corner, cleared.

72min: Gilmour, Matsen, Anjorin combine to play out and find Barkley wide right. He lays it in for Pulisic, but his shot on the turn from a tight angle flashes across the face of goal and wide.

66min: Pulisic plays in James and goes for the return ball, stealing it off the toe of Hudson-Odoi, but slamming it into the side-netting. Ian Maatsen and Tino Anjorin arrive on the scene in place of Alonso and Pedro. Zouma takes over the armband from Pedro.

62min: Chelsea keeping up the pressure as a Barkley cross is barely clawed away with Hudson-Odoi waiting on the doorstep. The Alonso’s cross is cleared with another sure goal in the offing.

58min: Gilmour running the show in midfield, before the ball’s played up to Batshuayi, who tries to create for himself instead of taking the easy pass, and is eventually crowded out.

55min: GOAL!! ZOUMA!! Batshuayi drops deep, collects, turns, and beats three before being fouled. Barkley and HCHO stand over the free kick 25 yards out, right channel. Barkley goes wide to James, he crosses in, and Zouma’s on hand to poke it into the back of the net. 4-1, CHELSEA!

53min: CHO takes, aims for the far post, where Alonso’s fouled but the referee doesn’t see it.

52min: Another Hudson-Odoi shot’s blocked, this time for a corner. The teenager takes it short, then crosses to the far post after receving the ball back from Pedro. Alonso eventually gets on the ball, turns, and shoots, but it’s deflected for another corner.

51min: Gilmour plays wide to CHO, who powers in a low cross to Batshuayi. He takes a touch and a left-footed snapshot, which goes just wide of the near post.

50min: Hudson-Odoi tries the ol’e cut in from the left and shoot move, but it’s blocked.

49min: Not much fluidity since the restart, with a couple fouls in midfield from either side breaking up play.

HALF-TIME: No changes for either side. Chelsea get us back underway.

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45+3min: Stoppage time passes without much incident other than a few minor fouls. Half time, with Chelsea two goals to the good and largely in control.

45min: A neat sequence involving CHO and Pedro ends with Gilmour giving away a foul to stop a counter. 3 minutes of stoppage time added on.

43min: GOAL!! PEDRO!! Pedro takes, Pedro scores. Barkley watches. 3-1, CHELSEA!

41min: Pedro finds CHO with a great crossfield ball. His back heel finds Alonso, who plays in a nice cross, but a defender clears before a tap-in could happen. Hudson-Odoi takes the corner, as Zouma’s dragged back in the area. Penalty!

39min: Gilmour finds Hudson-Odoi with a fantastic through ball; the winger cuts inside and shapes to shoot, but a second defender arrives out of nowhere to put in the crucial block.

38min: Barkley dallies on the ball and the attack loses momentum. Chelsea then try to combine in the middle, but it’s congested and Grimsby clear. After a wobble, the Blues have firmly regained control.

37min: Zouma powers one at a poor defender, but he survives and lives to tell another tale. Chelsea maintain possession from the throw.

34min: Guehi’s called for a foul, 25 yards out, right channel. In comes the free kick, and it’s a sneaky pass, but Batshuayi’s alert. Still, he’s called for a harsh foul near the corner flag. This time the free kick is swung in, and James heads clear.

31min: Pulisic beats his man to put a delicious cross into the 6-yard box, but a diving header is cleared ahead of the arriving Batshuayi. Soon after, another Pulisic cross goes just over the head of Hudson-Odoi at the far post.

30min: James misses a return pass, but takes out his man before he could counter, and even avoids a yellow in the process. The long free kick is won by Grimsby in the Chelsea penalty area, but the header back across is gathered by Caballero.

28min: Green into the book for a blatant dragback on Pulisic. Free kick just outside the corner of the penalty area on the right. Hudson-Odoi swings it in, Batshuayi is first to it, but his glancing header misses the target.

26min: Pedro chips into the area for Pulisic, but it’s just out of his reach and it goes out for a goal kick.

25min: Grimsby still in the ascendancy. A long throw from the right is half-cleared by Barkley, then Zouma completes the clearance. A long ball back in down the right from the vistors is too long and Chelsea can play out.

21min: The visitors, buoyed by the goal, pile on the pressure, but a snapshot on the turn goes well wide.

19min: GOAL! Grimsby. A long goal kick is allowed to bounce through, and Grimsby’s Matt Green absolutely lashes it past Caballero and into the top corner. Amazing shot; horrendous defending. 2-1.

18min: Gilmour can’t quite win the 50-50 in midfield and Grimsby attack down the right. In comes the cross, the center forward wins the header against Zouma, but it’s well wide of the near post. At the other end, Pedro gets a pass all wrong for Pulisic on the left. Front three very fluid so far.

17min: Alonso and Barkely stand over it; Alonso takes but it goes over the bar. Bit too much power.

15min: Batshuayi with a sweet turn in the final third, goes for the long shot instead of playing in Pulisic or Barkley. The shot is blocked, but the referee gives a foul. Free kick, 25 yards out, mostly central.

13min: A couple promising attacks down the right fizzle out, but Chelsea basically playing attack versus defense at this point.

9min: Barkley toys with his defender in the area, before creating space for the shot. Goalkeeper saves and a defender clears just before before Pulisic could slam home the rebound.

7min: GOAL!!! BATSHUAYI!! Pedro, Pulisic, and James combine to create space for the latter to cross. Batshuayi can’t quite get to it, but wins the 50-50 with the defender, turns, and finishes with the left foot. 2-0, CHELSEA!

6min: Barkley plays in Batshuayi, but his cutback is just behind Pulisic.

5min: Whitehouse tries to answer immediately for the visitors, but his 25 yard effort is easily gathered by Caballero.

4min: GOAL!!! BARKLEY!!! Guehi steps into midfield, and plays into the area for Pulisic, but his shot on the turn is blocked. Chelsea retain possession, with Gilmour and Pedro, before Barkley starts a run from deep, beats two, and beats the goalkeeper at his near post with ease. 1-0, CHELSEA!

3min: An aimless first few minutes, as Chelsea pass it around at the back with Zouma, before James passes forward to Pedro, who’s captain on the night. He’s tackled for a throw, which is then played back.

KICK-OFF: Grimsby, in black and white stripes, get us underway.

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Hope you’ve got your Carabaos at the ready, because it’s League Cup time from a supposedly sold out Stamford Bridge, where we welcome League Two (fourth tier) side Grimsby Town and their 5000+ strong contingent. Win or lose, they will make lots of noise, so let’s make sure it’s a win for us.

Here we go.

Welcome to Academy Day! (Four in the starting lineup; ten total!)

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Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Caballero | Alonso, Zouma, Guehi, James | Gilmour, Barkley | Hudson-Odoi, Pedro (c), Pulisic | Batshuayi

Substitutes from: Cumming, Tomori, Maatsen, Jorginho, Mount, Abraham, Anjorin

Grimsby Town starting XI:
McKeown, Hendrix, Davis, Gibson, green, Hessenthaler, Hanson, Whitehouse, Clifton, Hewitt, Pollock

Substitutes from: Cook, Robson, Rose, Vernam, Wright, Igbo, Russel

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Date / Time: Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 19:45 BST; 2:45pm EDT; 12:15am IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Keith Stroud

On TV: none (UK); none (USA); none (India); elsewhere
Streaming: ESPN+ (USA); JioTV (India); Chelsea TV (audio commentary only; int’l)

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Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.