Chelsea youngsters lift Euro Youth League title

The Blues, who are also in The FA Youth Cup Final later this month, beat Shakhtar Donetsk by 3-1 at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland.

And the goals came courtesy of Young Lions duo Izzy Brown and Dom Solanke, who were both part of the England squad which became Euro U17 Champions last May.

Eight of the starting line-up for Chelsea had represented England’s various development levels over the years, with Tammy Abraham and Kasey Palmer coming off the bench to supplement that.

The UEFA Youth League is made up of the U19 sides from the 32 participating clubs in the Champion’s League group stage, with teams progressing through their own groups before entering the knock-out stages.

With Adi Viveash’s side having won eight out of their nine games and Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar reaching the final without defeat, it was always going to be a tough test for the Blues.

But Brown, captaining the side, opened the scoring after just seven minutes to put Chelsea ahead before an own-goal from Andreas Christiansen brought Shakhtar level before the break.

The Chelsea players pile on Dominic Solanke after his goal in the final

Solanke, the competition’s top scorer, restored Chelsea’s lead two minutes after the re-start though and Brown added his second of the game in the 55th minute.

Shakhtar reduced the arrears in stoppage time through Kovalenko, but it was too little for them as Viveash’s side held out to claim the title.

"It was a very good final against tough opposition," said Viveash after the game. 

"I'm immensely proud of all of my players."

Chelsea U19s: 1 Bradley Collins, 2 Ola Aina, 3 Andreas Christensen, 4 Jake Clarke-Salter, 5 Jay Dasilva, 6 Charlie Colkett, 7 Izzy Brown (captain), 8 Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 9 Dom Solanke, 10 Charly Musonda, 11 Jeremie Boga.

Substitutes: 14 Kasey Palmer for Boga 71, 15 Tammy Abraham for Musonda 85.

Subs not used: 13 Jared Thompson, 12 Fikayo Tomori, 20 Dujon Sterling, 18 Kyle Scott, 19 Ruben Sammutt.