JESSE DERRY and Reggie Walsh were the stars as Chelsea’s kids made it five wins out of six in the Uefa Youth League.
Ibrahim Rabbaj, the 16-year-old dubbed the Moroccan Messi, started at this level for the first time.
But it was Derry, 18, and Walsh, 17, who stole the show in a convincing 3-1 win over Atalanta.
Derry, who joined Chelsea from Crystal Palace in the summer, scored twice in the first half to make it five goals in six Youth League games – or five, really, because he played just one minute against Bayern Munich.
The England Under-19 international, son of former Palace star Shaun Derry, has 10 in 16 appearances in all competitions since his move.
Walsh, already the youngest player to represent the Blues in the Champions League, grabbed the third just before the hour.
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Rabbaj seemed to struggle at times with the pace and physicality of the game.
He will learn a lot from how his fellow young stars made sure Chelsea came away with the victory their control deserved.
Calum McFarlane’s side had only a Chaz Holland effort that went wide to show for their early superiority until they took the lead just before the half hour.
Derry had been the target for some robust challenges from Atalanta from the start.
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But how he punished them when played in by Walsh’s lovely little scooped pass.
Derry controlled the ball, sat down the defender trying to tackle him and calmly finished.
It was the kind of skill and poise that Cole Palmer is famous for, and Derry duly performed Palmer’s “cold” celebration.
But Chelsea took their foot off the gas for a bit and paid the penalty when Atalanta’s own wonderkid, 16-year-old Francesco Gasparello, headed home an equaliser.
Derry soon restored the lead.
Chizzy Ezenwata, making his Youth League debut up front, made a strong run in the right channel. Atalanta failed to clear his cutback and Derry swept it home first time.
This time he performed a somersault and the finish deserved it.
Chelsea defender Olulayo Subuloye cleared off the line to kep the score at 2-1 at the break.
Walsh had already forced a good save from Mattia Sonzogni when he put daylight between the two teams.
You could actually make a good argument for Blues right back Genesis Antwi being their man of the match.
Appropriate enough, given his Christian name, so much of what was good about Chelsea started with him.
Antwi won the ball back on the edge of the Atalanta box and found Walsh, who buried a firm left-footed shot in the net.
Chelsea ‘keeper Freddy Bernal made a couple of decent saves in the last 20 minutes but the hosts never really looked like recovering.
First-team boss Enzo Maresca has made it clear to Alejandro Garnacho and his other wingers that they have to do the defensive work as well if they want the chance to show what they can do going forward.
So Maresca would have loved to see Derry making a 70-yard recovery run late on to make an important tackle – although he hurt himself in the process.
Mathis Eboue, son of former Arsenal star Emmanuel, replaced Derry for the final few minutes and himself looked dangerous.
But it was Derry and Walsh who really showed the kind of maturity, mentally and physically, that Rabbaj will need if he is to fulfil his potential.
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