Photo: John Sibley/Reuters

Chelsea youngsters Ola Aina and Nathaniel Chalobah were named in the starting lineup in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham and Antonio Conte was impressed with their performance.

“I prefer to speak about the whole team but I think this cup is very important to check the development of these young players,” Conte said.

“We have good young players and they need to play. I think the youngsters played a good game with the right intensity and concentration.

“When you lose it’s normal to see bad things but tonight I found a lot of positives.

“Usually you learn more from a defeat than a win but we must continue to work.

“I’m optimistic because I saw the right spirit and that’s very important. You can lose or win but you must have the right spirit. If I see that, I see a clear future.”