Callum
Hudson-Odoi says Maurizio Sarri told him to be "the best you can be" after
handing him his first Premier League start in Chelsea's 3-0 win over
Brighton.
The 18-year-old impressed as Chelsea eased to victory at Stamford Bridge.
He set up the opening goal for Olivier Giroud with a low cross and went
close to scoring when he headed at Mat Ryan from close range.
"I am very happy with the win," he said. "We all did well, we worked very
hard from the start and the mentality was good from the start. We had to get
some rhythm after Cardiff [2-1 win on Sunday] and we bounced back very
well."
Asked about Chelsea head coach Sarri's pre-match message, Hudson-Odoi added:
"He just told me before the game to go and express yourself, be the best you
can be. I feel comfortable and when you go through the game you get more and
confident to get the ball and hopefully I did well!
"I can't say if I should or shouldn't start, I just have to keep working
hard in training and hopefully the opportunities will come to get the starts
as well."
Fellow Chelsea academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek also started and caught
the eye with a brilliant goal from outside the box.
"It's what we have both worked for all our lives," he said. "Years of hard
work to come through the academy and get the opportunity to start a Premier
League game together is good for the academy and us personally."
The win sees Chelsea maintain their top-four challenge as they move up to
fifth in the Premier League table.
Loftus-Cheek added: "It's a massive three points and we will look to build
on that with six points in our last two games and close the gap."
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