There was an unusual atmosphere at Stamford Bridge this weekend that took a little while to comprehend. Obviously, the entire afternoon was overshadowed by a pall of sadness as the club and everyone associated with it paid our respects to Gianluca Vialli before and indeed during the game. We never forget our own, particularly if they were as lovely as Luca. It led to a reflective mood as the game started.

There were quite a few periods of near silence in the stands during those early stages. Even the usually raucous Palace fans seemed bent on having a more subdued afternoon than normal. It seemed as though our fans were saying to the players, ‘We are thinking of Luca but also, okay lads it’s time to show us the spirit we demand on the pitch and this time it’s on you.’ After a while it was clear the players were keeping their part of the deal with a very dynamic attitude, and the noise slowly returned to the stands.

It was a positive performance where we created more chances than we have for a while, but it was the work rate and the energy that really caught the eye and made the difference. There were plenty of stories in the mainstream and social media worlds before the game that were bordering on hysterical, but I think most fans at the game realised one thing above everything else. This was a Chelsea team laced with young emerging talent. The phrase ‘transition season’ is a well-worn one in football, because in reality there is usually a quiet transition going on all the time. This team sheet, however, hinted at something more substantial.

The backline Graham Potter put out, one that kept another Premier League club that is not lacking in skilful attackers at bay, was strikingly youthful. Lewis Hall is a mere 18 years old, and though there is improvement to come and a few rough edges to be worked on, it is clear he is going to be a very special talent for us for years to come. It isn’t easy getting a place in the Chelsea men's first team at that age, but although he doesn’t have to battle with Ben Chilwell right now, to keep a full-back like Marc Cucurella out of the team is still incredibly impressive.

Lewis’s willingness to get forward at every opportunity was incredible and he was desperately unlucky not to score the opener in the first half. Even this early on, it is hard not to think about sometime in the future when he could be flying down one flank and Reece James down the other, both to devastating effect. That’s not to write off Chilly, but it is certainly a very positive thing to consider after what has been a difficult recent run.

Lewis only had to look along the backline - though he doesn’t seem to spend a lot of time back there - and he will see another couple who are very youthful to be playing at this level. With the 23-year-old Reece out, another 23-year-old, Trevoh Chalobah stepped in at right-back and scarcely put a foot wrong. Trev seems to have been around a good while now, but he is still right at the start of his career with the chance of improving massively from the high standard he set at the weekend and in many previous games.

If Trevoh looked along the line himself and ignored the peerless Thiago Silva just for a moment, he would have seen yet another young man in 21-year-old Benoit Badiashile. It was difficult to tell too much from this first outing in blue, but it was clear he is a player who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and his confidence seemed to grow exponentially during the 90 minutes. I often make the point that centre-backs take the longest to reach full maturity, basically because there is a lot to learn and every mistake is punished brutally at this level while you are schooled. But he looks a long way ahead of the curve for someone his age in these first showings.

Let’s not forget Wesley Fofana. Again, a youngster at 22, particularly in terms of centre-backs. He has been spectacularly unlucky getting the injury so soon after arriving, but he has time and hopes for him are extremely high going forward.

Maybe this is what was at the back of a few fans’ minds at the weekend as the game progressed. At half-time we were introduced to Mykhailo Mudryk, aged 22. Having watched him in the flesh three times now, I can tell you that the guy has gallons of talent to spare. It may be all about the transition to English football and we all know that can take a little while, but just about the entire football world was keeping tabs on him before we moved in decisively this week.

Talking about unlucky starts beforehand, you can’t get more unfortunate than Joao Felix at Fulham. That is the youthful 23-year-old Joao Felix, who was the most creative player in a Chelsea strip and possibly the best on the pitch before his overexuberance got the better of him with his ‘forward’s tackle’ that led to the red card. Once more, with the obvious caveat that he is currently only on loan, here is a player who is talented but a definite look towards the future and a longer-term development.

When you look at it now, with David Fofana (20) and Carney Chukwuemeka (19), it is pretty obvious that this could be the start of a rebuild of monumental proportions, but also one that needs a decent amount of time to mature and gel. It is not easy to do that in the top league in the world, but then again there is no better place to develop more quickly.

It is worth remembering, because it is very easy to forget, that Kai Havertz is only 23, and Mason Mount is a scarcely venerable 24, but both are extraordinarily experienced for their ages. Add on the 21-year-old Armando Broja with the 22-year-old Conor Gallagher and if all were fit, we could put out an incredible under-23 team that could challenge just about any other around. Mason can be the overage player!

Some might say we have been here before. Remember when Mason, Reece, Tammy Abraham, Dominic Solanke, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek appeared to be the obvious future of the club? It is indeed never that simple, but what is clear and was obvious at the weekend is that there is a new direction of travel.

I have put a fun, future outfield 10 here below which may never play together, but how would you re-arrange them? It doesn’t look like a bad team to me already, with an average age of just over 22!

Chelsea's young outfielders (3-4-2-1)

Chalobah (23), W.Fofana (22), Badiashile (21); James (23), Mount (24), Gallagher (22), Hall (19); Joao Felix (23), Mudryk (22); Havertz (23).

With Chukwuemeka, Broja and D.Fofana all possible starters too, the bench is even younger!