Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink impressed by forward Bertrand Traore
Sunday 6 March 2016 13:12, UK
Bertrand Traore has earned his chance to lead Chelsea's attack, according to interim boss Guus Hiddink.
Traore was selected ahead of Loic Remy and Alexandre Pato up front for Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Stoke in the Premier League in the absence Diego Costa, who was rested due to a minor tendon injury.
And the 20-year-old grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he scored from 20 yards in only his second start for the Blues.
"You see in parts of the game that he has quality," Hiddink said. "He has shown that already when he has come on.
"It's a little bit different when you start at Stamford Bridge from the beginning.
"You can see he has quality but young players have to try to control and dominate their nerves and you could see that at the beginning.
"But he showed with the goal that he has the capacity to do a lot.
"The strikers compete amongst themselves in a healthy way. If they show what they do in training, then it will be rewarded."
Pato remained on the bench for the stalemate with Mark Hughes' side but Remy eventually came on as a 68th-minute replacement for Traore.
Costa - Chelsea's leading goalscorer with 14 goals in all competitions this season - is expected to be fit for the Champions League last-16 second leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, with the Blues 2-1 down after defeat at the Parc des Princes last time out.
