HAVERTZ NICE DAY!
Kai grabs hat-trick but Thiago Silva gets a scare on his debut
KAI HAVERTZ and Thiago Silva provided the perfect answer to one of the oldest questions asked of foreign imports coming to the Premier League.
Emphatically, it turns out they can do it against Barnsley on a wet Wednesday night, thank you very much.
German international Haver tz opened his goalscoring account in England with a coolly-taken hat- trick. His Brazilian colleague lasted an hour of London’s inclement weather and the Tykes’ eager pressure.
It was Thiago’s first game since Paris Saint- Germain’s Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich and, in the 14th minute, he very nearly gave away his first Chelsea goal, when Patrick Schmidt robbed him of possession and Dominik Frieser r was inches away from meeting the resulting cross.
So enterprising was some of the Championship side’s play, against a lacklustre Chelsea team containing eight changes from the Liverpool game, that Willy Caballero was even able to add to Kepa Arrizabalaga’s woes, with a half-decent goalkeeping display to increase the competition. The real class was at the other end, as Chelsea’s finishing proved the difference between the two sides. A defensive howler gave Tamm y Abraham a clear sight of goal, and that was all he needed to open the scoring in the 19th minute.
N i n e minutes later, his brilliant dummy to Mason Mount’s pass gave Havertz all the time he needed to score his first Blues goal.
Barnsley continued to try to take the game to Chelsea but, four minutes after the break, Ross Barkley burst through the heart of the defence to drive in a low third.
More self lessness from Abraham teed up Havertz for his second in the 55th minute – a simple tap-in.
Thiago was considered to have earned his badge of honour after an hour and was replaced by Kurt Zouma – stiffer tests will determine whether the 36-year-old really can manage at this level.
Havertz still had his matchball to collect, leaving the Barnsley defence in tatters once more to round Bradley Collins and roll his shot into the empty net. It was his cue to make way for another debutant, Ben Chilwell, to take part in what was turning into a practice drill.
But for some weak finishing, Chelsea could have taken the scoreline towards double figures.
As it was, substitute Olivier Giroud was the only one to take advantage, heading in deftly from Chilwell’s curling cross in the 83rd minute.
CHELSEA: Caballero 7, Azpilicueta 6, Thiago 6 (Zouma 61, 6), Tomori 7, Emerson 7, Barkley 7, Kovacic 7, Mount 7, Hudson-Odoi 6, Abraham 8 (Giroud 72, 6), Havertz 9 (Chilwell 66, 6)
BARNSLEY: Collins 5, Solbauer 5, Halme 5, Williams 6, Ludewig 6, Mowatt 6, Ritzmaier 5 (Oduor 57, 5), Styles 7, Frieser 6 (Chaplin 57, 5), Schmidt 7, Woodrow 6 (Thomas 45, 5)