Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Ethan Ampadu has been discussing the impact that Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers made after coming off the bench in Chelsea’s 6-3 win over Leeds United on Wednesday night.
Ampadu and Leeds were beating Chelsea 2-0 in the third round of the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge.
However, Palmer and Rogers managed to completely change the game after their introductions. The former scored a brace, while the latter registered three assists.
Chelsea player ratings vs Leeds
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Ethan Ampadu says Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Chelsea’s other substitutes have ‘a lot of quality’
Leeds were on top of Chelsea for the entire first half and started the second strongly after going 2-0 up through Brenden Aaronson.
But Ampadu has admitted that the home side simply had too much quality in the end as Xabi Alonso turned to Palmer, Rogers, Pedro Neto and Reece James.
In a post-match interview with LUTV, which has been shared by Leeds’ official club website, Ampadu said: “We had a lot of momentum. We quietened the crowd down. Everything seemed to be going in our direction, and then it was a penalty for their first.
“Then after that they brought a lot of quality on the pitch and took moments.”
Lukas Nmecha of Leeds United and Ethan Ampadu of Leeds United talk
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
On the night, Chelsea’s bench was ridiculous. Joao Pedro was also a substitute, but the Brazilian was not needed, as Palmer and Rogers managed to get the job done.
In terms of starters, Danny Welbeck and Valentin Barco also had a positive impact on the game. Like Palmer, Welbeck was also able to bag a brace, while Barco got his name on the scoresheet, too. It was the Argentine’s first goal for Chelsea.
Not everyone impressed, though. Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens both disappointed and were taken off.
They were two of the names sacrificed at half-time, making way for Chelsea’s game-changing subs.
Before the Carabao Cup tie, Chelsea were giving away too many chances in the Premier League, and it was a similar theme on Wednesday night.
Hopefully it is something that Alonso manages to fix. Going forward, the Blues are brilliant, but defensively, there is quite clearly a lot of room for improvement. If Alonso can get that right, Chelsea could become a complete outfit.