Marc Guiu, at just 18, scored his first Chelsea hat-trick as Enzo Maresca’s youngsters once again repaid the faith shown in them. Two of Guiu’s three goals were fortuitous, but he caused problems for the defenders all game with his relentless attacking threat. It left TNT Sports pundit and former Chelsea player Joe Cole in disbelief that Barcelona had offloaded him.
“My thought with Marc Guiu is how have Barcelona let him go?” said Cole. “This kid in two years time could be an established No 9. I think he can go all the way.
I think Barcelona have made a mistake.” Chelsea’s place in the Uefa Conference League round of 16 had already been confirmed before a ball had been kicked at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night and just as in Kazakhstan the previous week, the up-and-coming players showed their maturity. This was Shamrock Rovers’ first competitive match against Chelsea but it finished with the inevitable one-sided scoreline which reflected the gulf between the two sides.
Shamrock, who play a summer season, have not had a competitive match for a month, while Chelsea made nine changes from their weekend’s Premier League win over Brentford. Few expected a fiery contest, but the 3,000 travelling Irish fans made plenty of noise and as early as the fifth minute pelted Christopher Nkunku with toilet rolls as he walked over to take Chelsea’s first corner of the match. The incident sparked anger from the Chelsea fans who responded by singing God Save the King.
Che.
