When Chelsea went out and spent more than £200m on half of a new starting lineup, it didn't look good for the futures of some of the fringe players at Stamford Bridge.
The much-maligned defence was bolstered through the signings of Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, while the forward line saw Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner added to the fun.
Those six have justifiably dominated Frank Lampard's starting lineup so far this season, but with a place in the Champions League knockout stage already sealed and the hectic festive period approaching, the boss gave some of his underused players the chance to impress when the Blues travelled to face Sevilla on Wednesday.
Lampard made nine changes to the side which drew with Tottenham at the weekend, with only Mendy and midfielder Mateo Kovacic retaining their places, and it's safe to say that the vast majority of those took their chance to shine when it really mattered.
We'll start with left-back Emerson, who was starting just his second game all season. With Chilwell rested, the Italian was given the chance to prove why he's ahead of Marcos Alonso in the pecking order, and he did exactly that.
Looking every bit like the player Chelsea believed they were buying when they signed him in 2018, Emerson's work rate was astounding. At both ends of the field, he could be seen chasing lost causes and working hard for his team, and you've have been forgiven for thinking he was actually Chelsea's starter.
Whether he was trying to force his way into Lampard's plans or simply make the most of an audition for a move elsewhere - Inter have been linked - it's safe to say that Emerson's stock will have risen after Wednesday's victory.
The same can be said of centre-back duo Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, both of whom have been heavily criticised for their penchant for catastrophic lapses of concentration. While we've seen Rudiger go some way to rebuilding his reputation already this season, this was Denmark international Christensen's first real chance.
He took the opportunity with both hands, dominating both in the air and on the ground, and he also brought the passing ability which has earned him plenty of plaudits in the past. Playing alongside the composed duo of Rudiger and Mendy looked to have worked wonders.
With the ever-reliable Cesar Azpilicueta on the right, the group combined to limit Sevilla to just two shots on target, which is the sign of a job well done.
One negative, however: Fikayo Tomori desperately needs a loan move.
In attack, there's not much more that can be said about Olivier Giroud, who followed up his match-saving header against Rennes with a spectacular four-goal haul in Seville, but the performance of winger Callum Hudson-Odoi deserves recognition of its own.
Lampard has spoken openly about the need for Hudson-Odoi to focus on improving his work rate and off-the-ball energy, and we finally saw all of that on full show in Andalusia.
With Azpilicueta barking orders behind him, Hudson-Odoi showed his willingness to drop back into defence to cover for the Spaniard, indicating a discipline which hasn't always been present in his game.
Lampard still remains committed to Werner and Ziyech, but Hudson-Odoi proved he can be counted on when the moment comes, and that will mean a lot in the boss' eyes with the aforementioned busy schedule.
Fans are getting excited about Chelsea's squad depth this year, and understandably so. This was almost an entirely second-string lineup from Lampard, and yet it made last season's Europa League winners look positively amateurish.
Keeping all of his players happy might well prove to be the real challenge for Lampard, but if he can keep the Blues' morale high, the depth in this squad could well allow Chelsea to do something special this season.
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Source : 90min