Chelsea's under 18 side hosted Manchester United in the first leg of the Youth Cup semifinal, defeating them by a score of 3-2 as they seek to defend their crown. Josh McEachran captained the side for the game and was playing in a more forward role in the 4-2-3-1 that Chelsea ran out for the contest. Nathaniel Chalobah led the way for Chelsea, finding the back of the net twice from set pieces in the first half and playing generally exceptional defense. He was slotted into the central defense today instead of his usual holding midfield role due to the card accumulation of Danny Pappoe. Chalobah was partnered with Tomas Kalas in central defense.

Aziz Deen Conteh also played an exceptional game, providing constant pressure from his left back spot throughout the game. His attacking prowess created the third goal (which was finished by Bobby Devyne), and also set up numerous other opportunities that we failed to capitalize on. Milan Lalkovic was again playing out of position as the lone striker, reinforcing the belief that Chelsea need to focus on finding some more young attackers for their youth ranks. The clubs will meet again at Old Trattford on the 20th of April to decide which side will reach the finals, and away goals are not considered as a tiebreaker in the Youth Cup. A full match report can be found here.

