126 passes, 147 touches: £45m Chelsea ace impressed on national duty last night
Ben Chilwell was flying yesterday as the Chelsea star shone during England’s 5-0 win over San Marino.
Chilwell started and finished the Three Lions opening fixture of their World Cup qualifying campaign last night.
The Blues £45m (BBC Sport) summer signing was in sizzling form down England’s left-hand channel.
He was directly involved in the opening goal, picking out James Ward-Prowse with a smart pull-back.
WhoScored.com had him down for making 126 passes, the most of any player on the Wembley pitch, with an accuracy of 93.7%.
Add to that his five key passes and five attempted crosses, it was an altogether productive evening for the 24-year-old.
This was his 11th cap under Gareth Southgate and only the third since November 2019.
It was the first call-up Chilwell had received whilst playing for Thomas Tuchel at club level, despite most of his best work arriving during Frank Lampard’s tenure.
Chelsea’s left-back will be aiming to lock-down that side of England’s defence ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
His main competitor will be Manchester United’s Luke Shaw.
If they can both remain fit, then Southgate has a decent set of options heading into the major tournament.
