The Blues return to the pitch for a mid-week Premier League International Cup clash against Anderlecht at Kingsmeadow on Tuesday evening, with a 7pm kick-off, in a game which will be streamed live on the official Chelsea website and app.

The team heads into the match after a narrow 3-2 defeat against the current Premier League 2 table toppers West Ham, at Rush Green last Friday evening.

Although the Hammers took the lead with an Emeka Adiele brace, Donnell McNeilly pulled one back for the Blues just before half-time with a thumping header, leaving us 2-1 down at the interval.

West Ham struck again early in the second half, as Sean Moore capitalised on a counter-attack. Despite Chelsea’s resilience and Harvey Vale getting on the scoresheet with a powerful low strike, it wasn’t enough to secure any points from the evening fixture.

While Coelho acknowledged some positive aspects of the performance, he expressed disappointment with the final result, believing the scoreline should have been different given the number of chances we created.

'West Ham proved to be a tough opponent,' said our Under-21s head coach. 'But we found this match a good platform to build momentum after the win against Bromley, which was one of our best performances of the season. Against a men’s team, the boys did very well.

'West Ham, a team that had played four games in Premier League 2 and won all four, gave us something to prove about our momentum and the way we want to play. I think we started the match very well and our best chance came early, but unfortunately we didn’t take it when we found ourselves one-on-one with the keeper.

'After that, they scored. This has been a recurring theme in some of our matches, where we’re not clinical with the chances we create. When we aren’t clinical, our opponent punishes us. That was the case against West Ham.

'Of course, there were some defensive mistakes, which cost us three goals. But if we sum up the match, I felt we were the better team – more offensive and trying to control the game – but we just didn’t win. Football can be like that.'

Reflecting on the season so far, Coelho highlighted the impressive performances but stressed the need for his team to become more ruthless in front of goal to see the results of our hard work and pick up the points we deserve.

'To sum up these first five games of the season, we’ve had the most shots, which shows we’re creating plenty of chances.

'As I’ve said before, we are a team that enjoys dominating possession. We spend a lot of time in the final third, but we’re not being clinical in the box and we’re working on that. That’s what we need to prove we can do in our next match.'

Now, our focus shifts to midweek action under the lights at Kingsmeadow, where we host our second group-stage fixture in the Premier League International Cup against Anderlecht.

In our last outing in this competition, we faced RB Leipzig in August, falling to a 4-2 defeat. However, our Portuguese coach reflects on the progress we have made since then and looks ahead with excitement, confident that the team is ready to showcase its capabilities.

'Hopefully, in the next match against Anderlecht, we can make a strong response and deliver a better performance in the Premier League International Cup,' he added.

'There’s no reason to prioritise one competition over another, so we want to put in our best effort in every fixture we face. I’m confident we’ll continue playing as a very attacking team that creates plenty of good chances.

'The key difference I want to see in the next match is converting those chances, as we need to show that when we are on top of the game, we can confirm it with goals. After all, that’s what brings us victories.

'We are doing well, and I’m happy with the path of development we’re on. The team is playing very, very well, but to become the top team I know we can be, we need to start scoring more goals.'

Secure your seats under the lights

There’s still time to secure your seats for Chelsea Under-21s' Premier League International Cup clash against Anderlecht on Tuesday evening at Kingsmeadow, with a 7pm kick-off. Tickets are priced at £7 for adults and £5 for seniors and juniors.

If you’re unable to attend the game, supporters worldwide can watch the match via the live stream on the official Chelsea website and app, accessible through the Chelsea Under-21s vs Anderlecht Match Centre.