Chelsea secures 3rd straight FA Youth Cup win at Manchester City's expense

Manchester City's highly rated shot-stopper Daniel Grimshaw had a night to forget Wednesday as he was culpable for two goals in Chelsea's 3-1 FA Youth Cup win.

Efforts from Dujon Sterling, Tammy Abraham, and Fikayo Tomori were answered only by a late Brahim Diaz consolation marker, handing the young Blues a 4-2 aggregate triumph over the two legs.

These are exciting times for Chelsea's next generation: The club's claimed the FA Youth Cup for the third year in a row and the fifth time in seven seasons, adding to its second consecutive UEFA Youth League title, picked up earlier in April.

The lack of progression from the academy to senior squad at Stamford Bridge has been heavily criticised for some time. Before Ruben Loftus-Cheek's considerable impact on the first XI this season, the last player who'd made a smooth transition into Premier League football was 35-year-old John Terry.

Grimshaw's naivety in his decision-making and positioning was exposed on the opening two strikes from Chelsea, and imposing Canadian centre-back Tomori put the tie beyond City with a towering header on 73 minutes.

Diaz, a young Spaniard formerly of the Malaga production line (and very much of the ilk of compatriot David Silva), deserved his late effort. He serves as an early example of what City hopes to develop from its £200 million Etihad Campus, which opened its doors in December 2014.

Chelsea and City will now battle it out at the summit of the Premier Academy League. The latter's under-18s currently have a two-point advantage at the top with four wins in four matches.