Trevoh Chalobah made his first start of the season in the thrilling FA Cup win over Leeds, completing the ninety minutes as Chelsea dramatically secured a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.
After returning to the first-team fold in recent weeks, Chalobah put in a sterling defensive shift at the back, also moving to right-back as Mauricio Pochettino reshaped his side during the second half.
It looked as if our No.14 would have to play on into extra-time with the score locked at 2-2 going into the closing stages, only for Conor Gallagher's dramatic late winner to settle the tie.
And for Chalobah the evening represented a major personal step forward following a challenging 2023-24 season to date, which has seen him miss a large chunk of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
'It’s been a difficult time for me,' he said. It is the first time I’m my career I’ve been out for this long and having setback after setback.
'I managed to keep myself focused on the road ahead and have managed to get here after a long few months of rehab.
'It was good to get 90 minutes, that was my first since pre-season in July. So I’m over the moon right now.'
Chalobah also came off the bench during our Carabao Cup final defeat at Wembley only three days before the Leeds win, and the versatile 24-year-old believes the chance to play again so quickly was a blessing for the Blues.
The FA Cup success means the season could still end with more trips to the national stadium and possibly silverware, something Chalobah says the team are looking to make a reality.
‘Coming off the weekend, it was a massive win for us. We needed that, to get the boys’ confidence back up.
'The past is the past and it [facing Leeds] was an opportunity to look forward and get into the next round of the FA Cup. That’s what we did.
'When you’re in a cup final, you want to compete and win, but only one team can. The manager told us that we’ve got to move on, put the past in the past, but learn from it.
'We’re a new group and it was our first final together. We just need to learn from that one. I’ve, obviously, played in other finals and not won so I know how it feels. This competition is another opportunity to get to a final again and the boys are really hungry.'