“He’s too harsh on us” “He showed no mercy” – Barrow boss Stephen Clemence blames Chelsea man for horrible 5-0 defeat to Chelsea
Although Enzo Maresca made 11 changes for Chelsea’s match against League Two Barrow, this was hardly a cheap group of Blues backups as far as B teams go.
It was a team that required £415.8 million to put together, and on a night when Christopher Nkunku helped himself to a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge, that superiority was evident.
Chelsea paid £52 million for Nkunku, while their other starting attackers cost £89 million for Mykhailo Mudryk, £54 million for Pedro Neto, and £46.3 million for Joao Felix. That was even before we reached the bench of substitutes, when Ben Chilwell, a £50 million left defender, was brought in for his first minutes of the campaign following a summer in which he was unsuccessfully put up for sale.
It was to the credit of the visiting supporters that they never stopped singing while succumbing to Chelsea’s devastating squad depth, those making the 600-mile round trip perhaps having accepted their fate as soon as the starting line-ups were confirmed.
They watched from the away end as Nkunku netted his treble, while a free-kick from Felix led to an unfortunate own goal by Barrow goalkeeper Paul Farman and a tap-in by Neto completed this scoreline.
Barrow boss Stephen Clemence blames Enzo Maresca for his ash formation against his side…says he should have use team C.
Barrow boss Stephen Clemence added: “With our small team Enzo Maresca decided to punish us with his twisted players, I think that’s too ash on us”
‘You don’t know what team Chelsea are going to pick when you turn up, but you know it’s going to be a good one. It can look like a different sport. The gulf is massive. I’m looking forward to getting back to League Two this weekend.’
Rory Feely’s long throw-ins had given Barrow hope of snatching an opener, but Chelsea took an eighth-minute lead with a goal that flaunted their supremacy.
It involved the most artistic assist the Carabao Cup will surely see this season as Felix, facing the Barrow defence, scooped the ball over the top for Nkunku to volley beyond Farman.
Nkunku scored again after 15 minutes, this time flicking home a cross from Malo Gusto after a back-heel by Neto.
When Gusto was fouled 25 yards from goal, Felix stood over the centrally-positioned free-kick. He curled it on to the post, only for the ball to bounce back off Farman for an own goal to make it 3-0 inside 30 minutes.
Chelsea were playing without a shirt sponsor, but are now in talks with Qatar Airways and two other major airlines to correct that. Chilwell may not have expected to ever see himself in this blue kit again after being told he should prepare to be sold or, at the very least, loaned in the summer.
Yet after a move failed to materialise, Maresca allowed him to return to first-team training. Chilwell came on for the second half with the supporters cheering his name as the England international even pulled on the captain’s armband.
Chelsea scored their fourth goal after 47 minutes with Nkunku playing in Mudryk, who unselfishly squared to Neto. Not feeling too merciful, Maresca’s men went in search of a fast fifth and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall thought he had it until his volley was blocked by Ben Jackson.
Then arrived the academy boys, with Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George introduced for the final half hour. Chelsea insiders find it frustrating how much criticism they receive for bringing in big signings while they have a perfectly good production line at Cobham.
Yet the Premier League side can cite this as proof that they are not disregarding their own, and George looked gutted after he failed to score when he only had Farman to beat.
In the 69th minute, Kian Spence forced Filip Jorgensen into an acrobatic save when his free-kick appeared to be flying into the top corner. Jorgensen was then grateful to get his hands on the ball after a goalmouth scramble caused mass confusion.
Barrow’s best spell of the contest was brief as in the 75th minute, Farman dawdled in his own box. Nkunku seized the opportunity as he stole possession to score his third and claim ownership of the match ball for his mantle. This time, he performed his trademark celebration, pulling a blue balloon out of his sock and blowing it up to cap a fine night’s work for a B team that others could only dream of having.