Ola Aina made his second start for Chelsea last night, and his performance confirmed what we already suspected about the young fullback.
Playing on the left, Aina sparkled in the opening stages as Chelsea bossed possession. He played a couple of nice balls into the channels, got forward effectively and won an early corner. His height makes him a real threat at set pieces too, and he has the pace to get up and down the flank just as Antonio Conte wants him too. He showed some nice touches on the ball too, taking it inside on a mazy run at one point that created space for his attackers.
However he made some errors in possession too, and as Chelsea faded in the game he was as guilty as anyone. He was shrugged off the ball too easily for a man of his size, and didn’t show the same relentless energy that we’ve seen from Victor Moses playing a similar role. His ability to cover at both left and right back will mean he gets plenty of chances for minutes this season, and with a little polishing he looks like he will be real asset for the Blues.
