Ben Chilwell sends message to Jimi Tauriainen after what he achieved last night
Last night in the FA Cup fifth round, Chelsea defeated Championship team Leeds United 3-2, a much-needed victory. They will host Leicester City in mid-March for their next quarterfinal match at home.
After losing to Liverpool in the League Cup final over the weekend, the Blues maintained their composure to react.
This Saturday’s league matchup is against Brentford, a nearby rival team.
Jimi Tauriainen, who is only 19 years old, will always remember the Leeds match.
In stoppage time, the young midfield player was brought on to make his senior debut.
Having a young player mingle with the first team on a matchday was another fantastic day for the Cobham Blues academy.
Ben Chilwell, the 27-year-old deputy captain of Chelsea, posted a message on social media congratulating Tauriainen on his first senior debut.
On his Instagram story, Chilwell posted, “@JimiTauriainen, Congrats on the debut mate.”
As Simon Johnson of The Athletic saw on X, Chelsea captain Reece James gave Tauriainen a hearty embrace as he exited the pitch following his debut.
![Ben Chilwell Cheers: Message to Chelsea Youngster for Last Night's Feat 2 GHfnnZMXsAANnbh](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHfnnZMXsAANnbh.jpg:large)
Jimi Tauriainen debut
Tauriainen deserves a lot of praise for his diligent work in the young squads over the past few years, as he was a Chelsea player when he first arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2020.
Let’s hope the left-footed midfielder has a long and fruitful career in the first squad.
At different times during the season, Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino has introduced academy players; Alfie Gilchrist is arguably the biggest beneficiary of it. However, we contend that we haven’t seen enough of other young people, including Leo Castledine and Ronnie Stutter.
It’s clear that this inept Chelsea team is under pressure to turn things around, so adding more inexperience must be more difficult. Liverpool is evidence that academy football players have genuine skill.