Chelsea 6 Barnsley 0 - Kai Havertz nets hat-trick as Tykes exit League Cup

Order was emphatically restored in the capital by Chelsea’s boys in blue and after special nights with former club Wolfsberger at Roma’s Stadio Olimpico and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Borussia Park in the Europa League last autumn, there was nothing resembling an encore for Gerhard Struber. Quite the opposite, in fact

Against a well-heeled Chelsea line-up which was headlined by the inclusion of the country’s most expensive summer signing in £71m midfielder Kai Havertz, this was a totally different proposition for Barnsley’s Austrian-born head coach.

For Barnsley to go close to any sort of shock, they had to deliver a near-perfect performance in terms of their defensive aptitude, decision-making and discipline as Struber would have known only too well – and one devoid of mistakes.

Sadly, the polar opposite applied and it was Havertz who was the chief beneficiary – helping himself to a 37-minute hat-trick before being handed a breather.

After he departed, it got even worse for Barnsley, who fell to their joint heaviest defeat in a cup game since losing 8-1 against Derby County in the FA Cup way back in 1897

A classy operator with a silky touch, smooth engine and an incessant work-rate to match, players like Havertz do not need any assistance whatsoever.

It was the former Bayer Leverkusen player who dispatched an effortless low finish past former Stamford Bridge academy product Brad Collins just before the half hour to ensure that the evening was wholly comfortable and straightforward for the hosts when he struck their second goal.

Up to that point, a two-goal buffer for the hosts was harsh on a Barnsley side who pressed with trademark intensity and answered Struber’s direction to be brave and assertive against exalted company.

Unfortunately, that turned into overconfidence and then minds became frazzled on the restart as Chelsea scented blood.

Frank Lampard’s early body language, with his hands in his pockets and a non-plussed expression, pointed to concern. But he need not have worried.

A smart block from Collins to thwart Callum Hudson-Odoi was a rare early moment of incursion from Chelsea.

Patrick Schmidt picked the pocket of Thiago Silva – making his Blues debut exactly a month after starting for Paris St-Germain in the Champions League final – and his low cross just required a touch before Willy Caballero made an excellent tip-over to keep out Cauley Woodrow’s fine curler.

The Argentinian would also deny Marcel Ritzmaier on two occasions when Barnsley manufactured opportunities with Schmidt and Michael Sollbauer also going close.

But in between the pockets of good play to admire from Barnsley, there was naivety.

A promising start was spoiled by some crass overplaying out from the back by Aapo Halme and Ritzmaier to hand an opener on a plate to Tammy Abraham and victory was rubber-stamped early in the second half.

Reds captain Alex Mowatt had a moment that he would care to gloss over when he attempted to turn Havertz in a dangerous position. It was the footballing equivalent of hari-kari with Havertz and Chelsea all over the indiscretion like a rash and Ross Barkley’s ruthless finish compounded the gravity of the miss.

Emblematic of a messy night was the fact that another usually so reliable in Sollbauer managed to add to the burgeoning error count to enable Chelsea to feast on more visiting mistakes to hand Havertz a gift of a second goal.

It was an education for Struber’s side and that continued when a ball agonisingly slipped between the legs of Collins and Havertz, almost apologetically, shepherded the ball over the line.

Barkley spurned a golden chance to make it six, but the respite lasted until eight minutes from time when Oliver Giroud exposed dreadful marking to head home following substitute Ben Chilwell’s centre. Barnsley had chances for a consolation during a second half when they plainly did not give up.

But this was one to quickly consign to history ahead of a home game with Coventry City, which now assumes a fair deal of importance as they Reds seek to salvage something from a testing week.

Chelsea: Caballero; Azpilicueta, Tomori, Silva (Zouma 61), Emerson; Barkley, Kovacic, Mount; Havertz (Chilwell 66), Abraham (Giroud 72), Hudson-Odoi. Substitutes unused: Jorginho, Werner, James, Baxter.

Barnsley: Collins; Sollbauer, Halme, J Williams, Ludewig, Mowatt, Ritzmaier (Oduor 57), Styles; Frieser (Chaplin 57); Schmidt, Woodrow (Thomas 45). Substitutes unused: Walton, Simoes, Adeboyejo, Moon.

Referee: D Bond (Lancashire).

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Thank you

James Mitchinson