Chelsea 6-0 Barnsley, League Cup: Post-match reaction

Chelsea could’ve taken the lead inside of the first minute, but Barnsley were far from lambs out the for the slaughter, outshooting and outpressing the home side in the first half. But several good saves from Caballero, and clinical finishing from Abraham (from a mistake at the back) and Havertz (from some lovely play) gave the Blues a 2-0 advantage at half-time.

The second half was a different story, with Chelsea quickly doubling the lead thanks to Barkley and Havertz again, after which the last 35 minutes of the match were truly just a training exercise.

Thiago Silva’s day ended on the hour-mark, Havertz’s day ended after his hat-trick, and there was still time to add an hilarious miss from Barkley and a nice headed goal for Giroud from a Chilwell cross.

Barnsley had plenty of chances themselves in what was a very open game overall, but Caballero stood tall to all of them, even if he did give up a few (harmless in this case) rebounds.

Good win. Just what the doctor ordered.

Carefree.

• Plenty of changes from Lampard for this “fitness” exercise, with only Mount, Havertz, and Kovacic keeping their spots from the weekend.
• Debut for Thiago Silva in a brand new back four, plus starts for Abraham, Hudson-Odoi, Barkley, and Caballero.
• Zouma for Silva, Chilwell (debut) for Havertz (with Emerson moving up then later switching wins with Hudson-Odoi), Giroud for assist-man Abraham the three subs
• First senior professional hat-trick for Havertz
• No involvement for Rudiger — bye?
• No involvement for Loftus-Cheek — not bye?
• Involvement for Hudson-Odoi — not bye?
• Next up: West Brom away on Sunday
• KTBFFH

PLAYER RATINGS: