Chelsea's current crop of youth players continued to shine, as they comfortably saw off a valiant Manchester City side on Monday night at Stamford Bridge, to seal their second successive FA Youth Cup trophy; their fourth in the space of just six years. Read below, as I analyse the real winners from their 2-1 (5-2, aggregate) victory.
Isaiah Brown
The 18-year-old winger played through considerable pain barriers (back and hamstring) and was excellent on the flank, providing a constant threat to the City backline as his blistering pace, agility, and sheer strength were simply too much to handle on the night as he scored Chelsea's equaliser with a headed effort and created many more chances. Big things are expected of him, and just judging by this performance, it's hard not to see why.
Jay da Silva
The recently-turned 17-year-old has earned plaudits from the likes of Arsenal legend Ian Wright recently, as the former English striker hailed the Luton born left-back, saying he was better than any full-back in the Premier League currently. Bold words from a man whose opinion is valued highly, and he was heavily involved in the action on the flanks; using his pace to his advantage as he sped past his markers and added another attacking outlet to a five-star Chelsea youth side. Defensively solid, it's very rare to see a full-back who can defend and attack well, but I have a feeling he could be amongst the Blues' books for many years to come.
Tammy Abraham
The talented striker got Chelsea's second with an accomplished finish and was a livewire on the flank as the game developed. A real winner from the youth set-up in general, he'll be hoping to increase his already-impressive goal-scoring tally as the season draws to a close.
Dominic Solanke
Although the 17-year-old did not get himself on the scoresheet during the game, he was a constant threat as he created half-chances out of nothing through his relentless pressure and was unlucky not to grab a goal or two after some virtually perfect link-up play in and around the City box. On other day, he would have got all the plaudits, but you could tell he was told to be slightly more unselfish, creating chances as opposed to scoring them.
Charly Musonda
The midfield general, the spine between defence and attack in the Chelsea half of the field. My Man of the Match on Monday night, a real winner. Made a few clean crunching challenges and used his unbelievable acceleration to harrass the Citzens all evening long. Slick on the ball, dangerous running without it, and playing in another position which just adds to his versatility; he can play CM, CDM and CAM.
Charlie Colkett
The captain, Charlie, got all of the basics spot on from a midfield role partnering Musonda alongside him, playing with an encouraging air of composure and maturity to sit in-front of the defence without pushing forward un-necessarily, as well as winning all of his battles for possession near the centre circle. He dictated the pace of the game through his quick feet and fine range of passing; his passing from the ground was virtually always accurate, and his long through balls were promising but did not always find their intended target, which will have frustrated the skipper. Solid performance all-round, nonetheless.
Jake Clarke-Salter
Jake was a brick wall in defence, rarely putting a foot wrong with his towering figure and disclipined nature towards the game. Whenever City drove forward on the counter attack or a team-mate made a mistake, Clarke-Salter was eager to rectify it with a clean sliding challenge or robust standing tackle - ensuring that the visitors did not score any more than their opener.
Tosin Adarabioyo
Similiarly to Jake, Tosin was assigned the tough task of having to keep Solanke and Abraham relatively quiet during the game. He used his strength and pace to his advantage as he reduced the Blues' frontmen to feeding off of half-chances, and the blame could not have been placed on him for either of their two goals in truth. His battle in particular with Solanke was intriguing to watch, both young men were waiting to pounce on the other's mistakes.
Brandon Barker
The young English winger showcased his truly rapid acceleration and was hungry for ball possession on the flank, because when he had the ball at his feet, he gave the hosts problems down the wing. He was their most dangerous threat on the counter attack, created the chance leading up to Iheanacho's opener, but will have been unhappy at his lack of support when battling for the ball on his own.
Angelino
Did his ever-growing reputation no harm, as the youngster was solid and energetic throughout. Fizzed in some teasing balls towards the box especially in the second-half, but his team-mates were unable to latch onto them. With Gael Clichy and Aleksandar Kolarov not being expected to stay at the Ethiad much longer than a few seasons between them, the 18-year-old will be seen as the next generation full-back for the future and beyond.