Chelsea 3 Bristol Rovers 2: Michy Batshuayi scores twice as Antonio Conte's side hold on for EFL Cup win

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Vaishali Bhardwaj23 August 2016

Chelsea secured a narrow 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup second round on Tuesday night as Michy Batshuayi scored two goals on his first start for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

The Belgian striker, who signed for Chelsea from Marseille in the summer, netted two times in the first half, either side of Victor Moses' effort, to ensure Peter Hartley's free kick and Ellis Harrison's second-half penalty did not allow the visitors to cause an early upset in the Cup.

With Chelsea having won both their opening Premier League games against West Ham and Watford and Rovers having won just one of their League One games so far this term, it was hardly a surprise that the Blues dominated the early stages of the clash.

And it didn't take long for Chelsea's pressure to pay off when Batshuayi - making his first start for his new club - was teed up by Nemanja Matic before the Belgian volleyed the ball into the roof of the net in the 29th minute.

Moses quickly made it 2-0 just three minutes later after Pedro's cross from the left threatened to fly out but, after Cesar Azpilicueta superbly kept the ball in play, his cross into the box was tapped in from close range by Moses - marking his first goal for Chelsea since 2013.

Despite the Blues' control of the game, however, Rovers got one back from a free kick taken by Hartley in the 35th minute, although the visitors' hope didn't last long as Batshuayi then made it 3-1 with his tap-in from Ruben Loftus-Cheek's cross four minutes before the break.

AFP/Getty Images

Rovers, though, continued to pressurise the hosts and were rewarded not long afterwards when Pedro clattered into Stuart Sinclair in the area, resulting in Darrell Clarke's side being handed a penalty.

Harrison made no mistake from the spot and duly sent the travelling fans jumping for joy with his strike, which lifted Rovers to within just one goal of Chelsea.

AFP/Getty Images

Antonio Conte responded by sending on Eden Hazard, John Terry and Oscar but it was Batshuayi who threatened to score once more when his shot from Moses' pass was deflected just wide of the net.

The Belgium international did get the ball into the back of the net but, after it was ruled out for offside, Chelsea went on to secure a 3-2 win to book their place in the next round of the EFL Cup.

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