EPL: Why I Played 3 Teenagers Against Brentford – Chelsea Coach, Alonso

Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso has explained why he introduced three teenagers during his team’s Premier League clash with Brentford on Friday.

Chelsea suffered a 3-0 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Alonso turning to young players during the second half as the Blues searched for a way back into the game.

The former Real Madrid manager brought on 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, alongside 19-year-olds Geovany Quenda and Estevao Willian.

Alonso explained that Nicoll-Jazuli was introduced when Chelsea were already 2-0 down because the team needed more energy and numbers in midfield.

“Yeah, with 2-0 we brought Mahdi [Nicoll-Jazuli] because he has great energy, that at the moment in the middle we were short of numbers,” Alonso said, as quoted by Football London.

He also explained the decision to use Quenda and Estevao, saying, “The other ones are Geo [Quenda] and Estevao. Yeah, because they have been trained well, they are part of the squad.”

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Chelsea will now have time to regroup during the international break before returning to Premier League action against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.