The young Blues made the breakthrough during the first half through Eden Mahoney-Smith, who capitalised on a mix-up in the Norwich defence to give Chelsea the lead after 19 minutes.

We took that advantage into half-time, although Norwich had threatened shortly before the interval when Henry Edwards fired over the crossbar.

The visitors responded quickly after the restart, with Kahlil Steele equalising before the Norwich forward took centre stage. He won and converted a penalty to put the Canaries ahead, then completed his hat-trick with an impressive free-kick into the far corner.

Chelsea continued to battle and gave ourselves hope late on when Jack Anderson's effort took a deflection on its way into the Norwich net.

However, despite pushing for an equaliser in the closing stages, the young Blues were unable to find a third and Norwich held on to take all three points.

First-half advantage

Chelsea went into our first competitive fixture of the new campaign looking to make a positive start at Cobham, and the opening goal arrived midway through the first period.

A long ball forward looked as though it would be dealt with comfortably by the Norwich defence, but a misunderstanding between defender Ollie Oldfield and goalkeeper Lucas Alvarado presented Mahoney-Smith with an unexpected opportunity.

With both Norwich players caught out, the Chelsea forward was left completely unchallenged and raced through towards an empty goal. He kept his composure to roll the ball into the net and give us a 1-0 lead after 19 minutes.

It was one of the more straightforward finishes Mahoney-Smith is likely to have this season, but his alertness to anticipate the mistake ensured the opportunity did not go to waste.

Norwich remained in the contest and began to pose a greater threat as the first half progressed. Their best opportunity to draw level before the break fell to Edwards, who found space in a promising position but sent his effort over the crossbar.

That meant Chelsea headed into the interval with our one-goal advantage intact and 45 minutes away from beginning the new league campaign with a victory.

Norwich fight back

The complexion of the game changed quickly following the restart.

Four minutes into the second half, Steele found the equaliser for Norwich, bringing the visitors level at 1-1 and giving them renewed momentum.

Chelsea almost regained the lead when substitute Isaac Badu rattled the crossbar with a powerful strike.

But Steele continued to cause problems as the half wore on and was involved again when the Canaries were awarded a penalty. Steele had won the spot-kick himself and stepped forward to take responsibility from 12 yards, converting to complete the turnaround and put Norwich 2-1 ahead after 71 minutes.

Chelsea were now searching for a response, but instead it was the visitors who struck again eight minutes later.

Norwich won a free-kick in a dangerous position and Steele completed his hat-trick in impressive fashion, producing a well-taken set-piece which found the far corner and left Chelsea facing a two-goal deficit with a little over 10 minutes remaining.

Fighting to the finish

The young Blues refused to give in and quickly set about trying to find a way back into the contest.

That persistence was rewarded in the 83rd minute. Anderson took aim towards the Norwich goal and his effort picked up a deflection which sent the ball beyond the goalkeeper and into the net.

It reduced Norwich's advantage to 3-2 and gave Chelsea renewed belief heading into the closing stages.

With the deficit back to a single goal, we pushed forward in search of an equaliser and attempted to apply pressure to the Norwich defence during the remaining minutes, with Mahoney-Smith shooting just wide in the final minutes.

What's next

Our Under-18s will be back in action on Saturday when we travel to Birmingham City for a U18 Premier League clash, which will once again be shown live on CFC+. Click here to sign up for just £14.99 for the whole season.

The teams

Chelsea: Isaac Collinson, Riley Ebho (Gabriel Sambou 81), Josh Henry (Yunus Linton 82), Jacob Hall, Isago Silva, Jacob Dako (Jack Anderson 80), Eden Mahoney-Smith, Isaac McGillvary (Isaac Badu 58); Andrew Pennie (Kwamina Ampah 75), Heze Grimwade, Trey Faromo-Adebayo
Unused subs: Jake Murray, Emmanuel Ayinde
Scorers: Mahoney-Smith 19, Anderson 83
Booked: Hall 39

Norwich City: Lucas Alvarado, Jake Glossop (Isaac Statham 43), Ollie Oldfield, Samuel Augusto, Jayden Munikwa (Ademidire Akarakiri 69), Jeremiah Sinclair-Brown, Aaron Goodson (Joseph Kipa 61), Reece Wilkes, Ollie Roberson (Jack Duffy 61), Kahlil Steele, Henry Edwards (Hugo Collins 61)
Unused subs: William Bullen, Bobby Crane
Scorers: Steele 49, 71 (pen), 79
Bookings: Augusto 15, Steele 67, Collins 90+2