If there was one positive to come from the 2-0 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday evening it was the performance of 18-year-old Lewis Hall.
The academy talent had impressed in his only other start for the senior side at the beginning of this year against Chesterfield, and again offered encouragement for making a more significant step up to first-team minutes at the Etihad.
With more composure in the first half, he could have given Chelsea the lead, unable to beat an inspired Stefan Ortega after smartly evading a Rico Lewis challenge. A midfielder by-trade, Hall looked suited to the demands of left wing-back, providing the inspiring runs that helped beat Manchester City's press and opened up the pitch for Chelsea to create opportunities.
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By the time he was replaced by Kai Havertz, his performance was widely appreciated by the travelling support.
Hall offered some much-needed fresh energy on another challenging night for Chelsea, in a pretty dismal recent run under Graham Potter.
Hall, along with Christian Pulisic, provided moments of inspiration in Chelsea's attack. Even if the end product was still lacking, it was hard to convincingly argue the performance lacked creativity.
Potter needs to find answers ahead of Saturday evening's trip to St. James' Park to face a confident Newcastle squad that are currently six points clear of the Blues in third place. Facing the form side in the Premier League is not exactly what you need after no league win in four, and losing your last two as well.
Leaning on more experienced heads has not solved recent issues for Potter, with Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failing to impress in the Arsenal defeat. Pulisic, who has created the most chances for Chelsea per 90 minutes this season, has only started two of Potter's seven league games so far.
Armando Broja has only started one, netting off the bench in the 3-0 win against Wolves in early October. Hall's first involvement of any kind this season came in Wednesday's start against City.
If Potter is going to get buy-in for a longer-term project that will inevitably require some growing pains, leaning on different faces who maybe deserve more minutes could hope to do that. Those players have to justify those minutes and given the demanding schedule in the second half of the season, rotation will be required.
However, what Hall, Broja and Pulisic offer are chances for experimentation and unpredictability after a run of difficult results that have soured the mood around Stamford Bridge.
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