José Mourinho could do with a few more incident-free games such as this. Controversy has dogged Chelsea’s every step this season though a passage to the fourth round of the Capital One Cup was achieved with few alarms, even if play was interrupted in the second half when a pitch sprinkler went off of its own accord.
“We were strong, I’m happy with the result,” the Chelsea manager said. “Walsall play good football, they are not what you expect from a League One team, but I think we showed we did not come here to make mistakes. We could not afford that. When you make a start to the season like we have done you cannot lose to a side from League One.”
Chelsea could have taken the lead as early as the third minute when Ruben Loftus-Cheek created a shooting opportunity for Kenedy with a weighted pass. The initial shot was blocked but the rebound rolled invitingly into the path of Ramires, who had the whole of the goal to aim at and should have scored, only for Neil Etheridge to get down to his left to save.
The same two visiting players combined to make amends with the opening goal on 10 minutes, Kenedy sending over a deep cross from the left for an unchallenged Ramires to score with his head at the far post. While Ramires is not renowned for his heading ability or his finishing the opportunity that opened up in front of him would have been difficult to miss.
The League One side tried to get back into the game but found the going difficult against a Chelsea team that showed several changes. Eden Hazard, Pedro and Nemanja Matic were all on the bench, yet as each player Mourinho brought in had either a point to prove or a reputation to make Chelsea played from the off as if they meant business.
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