Chelsea were a man up and a goal up after twenty minutes yesterday. At the moment Hazard’s penalty hit the net and Sagdyov had trudged down the tunnel, Antonio Conte must have been ruing his selection of a fairly strong side.
It was clear from that moment that Chelsea would run out comfortable winners, and yet there were plenty of competent options on the bench who could have given the first team legs a rest with Liverpool coming up on Saturday.
Danny Drinkwater for one can feel hard done by that he didn’t get a start, assuming he’s fully fit. But one person who had a great chance for only a second appearance for the Blues was Dujon Sterling.
The full back flew all the way to Baku and didn’t get to play a minute, even though wing back is the position where Chelsea are currently lacking depth most severely.
