Levi Colwill opened his Chelsea goalscoring account for the season in style as the Blues secured a resounding 4-0 victory over Southampton at the Bridge, a match that held extra significance for the defender given his roots in the city.
The centre-half - who celebrates turning 22 today - was pleased to contribute to an entertaining victory after Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock before playing provider for Pedro Neto’s powerful effort to double our tally.
The Portuguese forward would deliver an enticing free-kick towards Colwill for our third - which the England international headed home emphatically - before Marc Cucurella wrapped up the win with our final goal after the break.
Having been born and raised in Southampton before moving to our Academy at the Under-9 age group, Levi has come close to finding the net on multiple occasions this season, but when the moment finally arrived it was made all the sweeter coming against the Saints.
‘I’ve missed a few chances this season, so it felt really good to get a goal,’ Colwill explained after the game.
‘Of course, it was against a team I played for when I was young, and it’s the city I live in. I have a few friends who are Southampton fans, so it meant a lot to me. I grew up around St Mary’s Stadium, that’s where I learned a lot of my traits, so it meant a lot to me.’
Levi believes the performance reflected Chelsea’s determination to bounce back after a difficult run of form with Colwill keen to highlight the importance of the team’s response, praising the squad’s resilience.
‘The last few games have been tough, so it was important to bounce back,’ he continued. ‘To get those goals, keep a clean sheet, and most importantly boost our confidence – hopefully, we can take it on to the next game.
‘We all trust each other and knew it would come. Every team goes through bad times or tough patches, we just have to get out of it and that’s what we did today. It raises our confidence.’
The evening also saw more young Chelsea talent make an impact, with academy graduates Tyrique George, Josh Acheampong, and Shumaira Mheuka all featuring. Colwill, himself a Cobham Academy graduate, was full of praise for their contributions.
‘It’s amazing for the boys to come on,’ he added. ‘As an academy boy myself, I know how much it means to them.
‘They were amazing when they came on – Tyrique got the assist, Shim was amazing, and Josh came on and was solid. I’m so happy for the boys, and hopefully, it continues and they keep progressing in the right way.’