Mauricio Pochettino heaped praise on young defender, Alfie Gilchrist, as the 20-year-old made his full debut during Chelsea’s 4-0 thrashing of Preston North End.
Gilchrist was handed a rare start for the Blues, as they aimed to progress to the next round of the FA Cup on Saturday evening. The centre back was however deployed at the right side of Chelsea’s four-man defence, with Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill in the middle, and Malo Gusto at left-back.
It was only the third appearance that the Chelsea academy product would be making for the first team after previously coming on as a substitute in the Premier League wins Crystal Palace and Luton Town.
Speaking ahead of kick-off in the third round win over the Lilywhites, Pochettino said of the player: “Alfie is a player that has been helping us in the last few games.
“He’s made a big impact from the bench and today he has the possibility to play from the start in front our home fans.
“I think this is a good part of his development, to be able to play for Chelsea in front our fans from the start in a big competition like the FA Cup.
“This is a big competition for us and we want to make sure we get through [to the next round].
“We’ve picked a strong team today which we feel is capable of reaching the next round but we know we will have to be at our best to do that because Preston will make it very difficult for us.”
Gilchrist impressed again for Chelsea on Saturday evening, although he was later subbed off in the 61st minute, as Pochettino brought in the more experienced Thiago Silva.