Sol Gordon: London derbies are always fierce

After joining the club through our development centre during his Under-8s season, Gordon recently signed his first professional contract with Chelsea. This season, the first-year scholar has already played an instrumental role for Hassan Sulaiman‘s squad, netted nine goals in 15 appearances across competitions and continues to impress week after week.

He played a key part in our 4-1 victory over Millwall in the Premier League Cup last time out by scoring a brace and now we are aiming to carry that form into this weekend as we return to Under-18 Premier League action. We secured all three points at Norwich City in our most recent league outing, when we managed to score three goals through three different scorers to bring a well-earned win back to Cobham, despite going down to 10 men.

With momentum behind us, as well as a week of focused training and reflection, our Under-18s are prepared to host Tottenham on Saturday morning. Tottenham currently sit ahead of us in third place in the league table with four wins, three losses and two draws. However, a win this weekend would see us rise above them.

‘I’m buzzing for the weekend,’ said Gordon. ‘At the moment, I’m feeling good. I’m happy about signing a new contract and the win against Millwall, so I want to keep the highs going!

‘London derbies are always fierce because that rivalry is naturally there. Everyone knows that, but when you play in them, those fixtures just feel different.

‘We need to make sure we go out and get the win. Our form at the moment is good, so I’m confident we have what it takes to secure the victory.

‘Personally, I’ve been pleased with my recent performances, but there’s still room for improvement. I want to keep pushing myself and hitting targets, like staying the top goal scorer. With each game, I feel like I’m growing in confidence and it would be great to maintain my form, especially if I can score against Spurs.’

Many of Sulaiman’s younger players, both first-year scholars and schoolboys, were involved in match action earlier this week in a 4-0 Under-17 Premier League Cup victory over Fulham, adding to the schedule ahead of our Under-18s fixture on Saturday.

Gordon continued: ‘With a busy week, it’s important to take care of yourself, to be as fresh as possible for the next game.

‘Recovery is crucial, especially when you have two fixtures in the same week. In some ways, it is also an advantage, as we have more footage to analyse and reflect on our performance to improve for the weekend.

‘We go into this Tottenham game coming off back-to-back wins, ready and hungry to fight for the three points. I’m really looking forward to it.’

Watch our young Blues

Supporters worldwide can watch the Blues in action against Tottenham Hotspur in this London derby at 11am on Saturday morning. The match will be streamed live for free on the official Chelsea app and website. To access the live stream, visit the Chelsea Under-18s vs Tottenham Hotspur Match Centre by clicking below or on the homepage shortly before kick-off