In a League Cup match against fourth-tier side Shrewsbury Town, Jose Mourinho gave some of his often-unused stars some valuable playing time.
Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t look like they’ll be hitting the pitch again anytime soon.
[ MORE: English League Cup roundup ]
Chelsea needed an own-goal by Shrewsbury’s Jermaine Grandison in the 80th minute to help the Premier League leaders defeat a team from England’s League Two.
Dane Andreas Christensen, Nathan Ake, Kurt Zouma and Mohamad Salah all saw rare minutes for the Blues in a match that few expected to be so close.
[ WATCH: Balotelli equalizes late for Liverpool ]
When asked if he was disappointed with his young players’ performances, the Special One responded with a resounding “Yes.”I can say yes because if players who played 90 minutes two days ago were fantastic, I expect those who were not playing a lot to raise their level and create me problems.
I love problems of choices but it is easy to choose my team for Saturday. They didn’t create me problems.”
While Mourinho was displeased with some players, Blues’ fans will have to be pleased with Didier Drogba, who scored in his third consecutive game after tallying against Manchester United over the weekend. The Ivorian striker will have to keep up his form as Diego Costa continues to nurse a bad hamstring.
[ REPORT: Diego Costa needs surgery on injured hamstring ]
Chelsea take on Queens Park Rangers this Saturday, and expect the Blues to improve their play and spoil the fun for Harry Redknapp’s side.