Chelsea’s coach, Enzo Maresca, praised 18-year-old Marc Guiu, who had an outstanding game against Irish giants Shamrock Rovers.
He also commended two other 18-year-olds, Scousers Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George, who impressed in their debuts during the UEFA Europa Conference League matchday six in London.
Guiu, who joined the Blues from Barcelona, completed his hat trick in the first half, cementing his position as the competition’s top scorer at the end of the league stage with six goals. He was joined on the score sheet on Thursday evening by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Marc Cucurella.
“He has already scored six goals in this competition, and since the start, he has been working well,” Maresca said. “He is taking his chance, and he knows that with Nicolas [Jackson] and Christo [Nkunku] there, it is not easy for him. But he must continue to work in the right way.”
The Italian coach added, “I’m very excited, first of all with the performance and the result. Once again, I think the players showed how serious and professional they are.
“In this kind of game, sometimes it’s easy to lose focus, but they know they are not allowed to drop their level. We need to show that we are serious and professional, and once again, I think they demonstrated that.
“It was also a good opportunity for some of the young players, so we are very happy.”
“When you play your first game, it is never easy, but Harrison did quite well. We have seen that he is good on the ball and also strong defensively. I think he deserved the chance to get minutes tonight, and he did okay.”
For Chelsea, it’s six wins out of six in the league stage. With an impressive 26 goals scored and just five conceded, Chelsea finished comfortably at the top of the table and are unsurprisingly one of the favorites to go all the way.
