Michael Golding Chelsea debut reviewed as Deivid Washington gets Mauricio Pochettino chance
Chelsea progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Championship side Preston North End. Second-half goals from Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez mean the Blues' hopes of domestic silverware live on.
Despite the convincing scoreline, Chelsea were made to work for their win after a resilient display from Preston. The Championship outside were, perhaps, the better team in the first half and frustrated Mauricio Pochettino's team.
However, quality shined through and Chelsea scored three goals in 11 second half minutes before Fernandez rounded off the scoring in the 85th minute. Pochettino's men now wait for Monday night's draw after avoiding a potential cup upset.
While there were impressive displays from Raheem Sterling and Alfie Gilchrist, there was two fresh faces on Chelsea's substitute bench in Deivid Washington and Michael Golding. Washington, who made his debut in the 2-0 defeat to Brentford in October, came on in the 76th minute to lead the line in the late stages.
The Brazilian wonderkid struggled to make any sort of impact against Preston, mainly down to the fact that the visitors sat incredibly deep after accepting defeat. He did, though, take up some good positions inside the box and could have benefitted from better balls from wide positions.
Another player who will be new to Chelsea fans is 17-year-old midfielder Michael Golding, who made his debut for the west Londoners after replacing Fernandez in the 89th minute. The versatile midfielder, who was regular for the Under-18s last year before breaking into the Under-23s earlier this season, was a poor touch away from scoring on his debut after latching on to Noni Madueke's saved shot.
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