Mauricio Pochettino’s reign at Chelsea began with an emphatic victory as the Blues beat Wrexham 5-0 in the USA.
The Argentinian developed a reputation for developing young players in his previous Premier League jobs at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur, and the average age of his starting XI for his first Chelsea match was just above 19 years old.
See: Chelsea line-up and report
Ian Maatsen stood out in the first half. The 21-year-old left-back, who spent last season on loan with Burnley, was deployed on the left side of midfield and scored both of the first-half goals. The first of those was set up by 22-year-old Nicolas Jackson, a summer signing from Villarreal.
See: Will young Chelsea defenders make their mark in Summer Series?
The final three goals came in the last 10 minutes. Conor Gallagher made it 3-0 and Christopher Nkunku got off the mark for his new club, before Ben Chilwell rounded off the scoring after a fine through-ball from 18-year-old Brazilian winger Angelo Gabriel, who joined the club this week.
“It is good to have the opportunity to see all these young guys who can show their quality,” Pochettino told the club's official website. “It is important for them and for us to have a real assessment.
“For sure all have quality. They need time and space to show they can compete for a place in the squad.
“Like always after a pre-season game, I’m happy because of the attitude, but of course it is time to improve.
“It is part of the process in this period to learn in the way we want to play and, of course, build the physical condition also. I am happy with the performance.
“The most important thing now is to get positive feelings and to start to play again after the holidays. All the players came in at different levels and now it is about putting them all at similar levels to try to compete for the season.”
Chelsea are next in action in the Premier League Summer Series, facing Brighton & Hove Albion in Philadelphia on Saturday.
See: Summer Series schedule
See: What to look out for during Summer Series
Also in this series
Part 1: Positive signs for Postecoglou despite defeat on Spurs debut
Part 2: Liverpool forwards combine to earn pre-season win
Part 4: Havertz off the mark as Arsenal display their firepower
