The Blues took just eight minutes to break the deadlock in the West Midlands, as Kobe Barbour marked his eighth goal of the season with a composed finish to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead at the interval.

After the restart, Chelsea took immediate control, doubling our advantage just over a minute into the second half through Riley Ebho, who opened his account for the club with a well-taken finish.

Substitute Chris Atherton then added a third, netting his third goal of the season to put the result firmly in Chelsea’s hands, before Jashayde Greenwood converted from the penalty spot to complete a convincing afternoon.

The result extends the Under-18 Premier League South champions’ winning run, maintaining strong momentum ahead of the final league fixture of the season.

Quick start

Chelsea Under-18s made a fast start, immediately asserting control of the contest. Winger Barbour was first to threaten, driving down the flank before unleashing a powerful strike from a tight angle that hit the side netting.

Birmingham responded with an early chance of their own. Salif Bamba struck a curling effort from just inside the area, but his attempt flew high and wide, sparing keeper Hudson Sands any real trouble and highlighting the open, energetic nature of the game.

The breakthrough soon followed and it was the Blues who struck first through Barbour. Ibrahim Rabbaj sparked the move with a driving run before delivering a perfectly weighted pass into the winger’s path. Barbour cut inside and, after entering the penalty area, guided a composed curling finish beyond Shea Birmingham to give Chelsea a deserved early lead.

However, the hosts were soon handed an opportunity to find a route back into the game. A quick attack saw Nikolai Degtiarev weave into the penalty area, where he went down under Isaac Badu's challenge, prompting the referee to point to the spot.

Degtiarev stepped up, but Sands guessed correctly and produced an excellent save. Michael Campbell reacted quickest to the rebound, only for the Chelsea goalkeeper to stay alert and deny him again - an outstanding double-stop to preserve the lead.

As the half-hour mark approached, we were forced into a spell of defensive work. The back line stood firm, with captain Dante Waite showing strong leadership to ensure the advantage remained intact.

After a lively and action-packed first half, the Blues headed into the interval with a narrow but deserved lead, looking to build on a confident performance in the second period.

Perfect restart

Our Under-18s made an immediate impact after the restart, doubling our advantage in clinical fashion through Ebho. The move was sparked by a powerful run from Barbour into the penalty area, where he drilled a low effort on goal. Although the Birmingham goalkeeper managed to parry the initial shot, Ebho reacted quickest in a crowded box to turn home the rebound and make it 2-0 to the Blues.

We came close to adding a third soon after, with momentum firmly in our favour. Greenwood unleashed a thunderous strike from outside the area that looked destined for the top corner, but the hosts' keeper produced an outstanding save to push it away.

The third goal was not long in coming. Greenwood remained at the heart of the action, driving into the area before threading a precise pass into the centre of the box, where winger Atherton was perfectly placed to calmly slot into the open net and extend Chelsea’s lead.

We were awarded a free-kick in a promising position soon after, when schoolboy Gabriel Sambou was brought down. Atherton delivered a dangerous ball into the area, where defender Yisa Alao met it, but his effort drifted just wide and landed on the roof of the net as we continued to search for a fourth goal in the closing stages.

Fourth delight

It was only a matter of time before our pressure was rewarded. Heze Grimwade used his quick footwork to drive towards goal, and as he was sandwiched between Junior Wilson and Birmingham, the midfielder went down, prompting the referee to point to the spot.

Greenwood stepped up and calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, firing into the bottom corner to make it 4-0 to the Blues and add his name to the score sheet - both fully deserved on the balance of play.

Grimwade almost added another with just two minutes of normal time remaining, unleashing a thunderous strike from inside the area that crashed back off the crossbar.

Chelsea continued to press until the final whistle, showing real unity and determination in the closing stages. The Under-18 Premier League South champions saw out another well-earned victory, extending our unbeaten run to 10 matches and maintaining impressive momentum with just one game remaining in the league season.

What is next

Chelsea Under-18s will be in action next Saturday, hosting Leicester City in our final Under-18 Premier League South fixture of the season. Kick-off is at midday at Cobham. The match will be available to watch live, free of charge, via the Chelsea Official App and website.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Hudson Sands; Riley Ebho (Gabriel Sambou 61), Dante Waite (c), Jacob Hall, Yisa Alao; Isaac Badu, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli (Isago Silva 66), Heze Grimwade; Ibrahim Rabbaj (Chris Atherton h-t), Jashayde Greenwood, Kobe Barbour (Trey Faromo-Adebayo 66)
Unused sub: Toby Bell
Scorers: Barbour 8, Ebho 47, Atherton 54, Greenwood pen 79
Booked: Rabbaj 16, Alao 82

Birmingham City (4-2-3-1): Shea Birmingham, Salif Bamba, Fynn Hawkeswood, Alex Ranson, Isifu Drammeh, Taha Elmansuri (Jayden Nunes-Wickham 58), Lorenzo Greer (Dominik Ziolkowski 70), Michael Campbell, Juran McKayle (Connor Reilly 77), Nikolai Degtiarev
Unused subs: Mordecai Jones, Alfie Smith
Booked: Elmansuri 34