Mauricio Pochettino achieved a historic feat by fielding the youngest-ever Chelsea lineup in Premier League history against Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.
The average age of Chelsea’s starting lineup in that match, at 23 years and 21 days, stands as the youngest in the club’s Premier League history and ranks as the eighth-youngest lineup overall in the league’s history.
1 – Chelsea have named their youngest ever Premier League starting XI (23 years, 21 days); it's the youngest XI named by a Premier League team since Man Utd vs Crystal Palace in May 2017 (22y 284d) and the eighth youngest ever by any side in Premier League history. Budding. pic.twitter.com/ljLqDB9Rza
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 27, 2023
After scoring his first Premier League goal during Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Wolves on Christmas Eve, Christopher Nkunku featured in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting eleven for the first time since joining the club in the summer. Nkunku was expected to play in the number 10 role, just behind Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea’s starting lineup on Wednesday is the youngest in the Premier League since the Manchester United team against Crystal Palace in May 2017, with an average age of 22 years and 284 days.
Pochettino’s Chelsea has faced three defeats in their last five Premier League matches, currently residing in 11th position in the table. They will look to secure a victory at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday before their final fixture of 2023 against Luton Town on Saturday.
Having a young XI brings its benefits and its downsides. They will have dynamism and athleticism in abundance, however, their inexperience will show in certain situations, particularly when they need to control the tempo of the game.