Five Nigeria-eligible players on parade as Chelsea U18s beat Man Utd in 5-goal thriller

Chelsea U18s continue their fight for silverware on three fronts after coming from two goals down to beat Manchester United 3-2 in the quarterfinal of the U18 Premier League Cup on Saturday.

All five players of Nigerian descent named in the matchday squads tasted action with 2019 Golden Eaglets invitee Prince Adegoke and Derrick Abu going the distance and Louis Flower coming off the bench for Chelsea in the 90th minute; Manchester United midfielder Max Oyedele put in a full shift and exciting schoolboy Habeeb Ogunneye played the last seven minutes.

There was no shortage of action in the first half with both teams hitting the woodwork but it was the visitors who held the advantage through Alejandro Garnacho who finished from close range.

Two minutes into the second half, Norkett dusted himself off and fired the penalty into the top corner to double the advantage after he was fouled by Chelsea goalkeeper Adegoke.

Stutter fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to half the deficit in the 54th minute, Mothersille equalised with fourteen minutes to go and Silko Thomas netted the game-wining goal in the 78th minute.

Chelsea, who are third in the U18 Premier League Southern section, will host Blackpool in the quarterfinals of the FA Youth Cup.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel