Chelsea boss Antonio Conte praised Nathaniel Chalobah and Oina Aina following the defeat at West Ham.
The two youngsters featured at the London Stadium, where the Blues bowed out of the EFL Cup.
Conte was encouraged by his team’s performance despite the result and felt Chalobah and Aina played their part.
“This game was important to check the development of these players,” he said at his post-match press conference.
“They need to play and for this reason I am disappointed we can’t play (in the EFL Cup) in the future.
“The young players, like the other players, played a good game with the right intensity.”
Conte insisted his team were “a bit unlucky” and that the spirit they showed suggested they are heading in the right direction despite the result.
“The performance, for me, was good. The result is a pity,” the Italian added.
“We knew this type of game would be very difficult against a strong team like West Ham but I think we played a good game with good intensity.
“We created many chances to score and I saw a good spirit in my players, because until the end they tried to change the result.
“I’m optimistic because I saw the right spirit and that is very important.
“You can lose, but I always want to see the right spirit and if you have that spirit you know you can work.”