Batshuayi auditions for Conte with Llorente move looming over him and Chelsea
The Blues second string have a battle on their hands to convince their manager to drop his tried and tested eleven, but they performed well against lower league opposition
Michy Batshuayi had the most to prove on Sunday, as Antonio Conte gave an experimental XI a chance against League One Peterborough - a chance the Stamford Bridge side took, running out 4-1 winners in the FA Cup.
Chelsea's reserve players did broadly what was asked of them, but it was Batshuayi who had more pressure on him than anyone on a rainy evening in west London. Conte was quick to remind him of his responsibilities, giving him an earful for being too greedy in the 38th minute, as he opted to shoot with Willian free in the box.
After Pedro opened the scoring with a lovely curled finish in the 18th minute, Batshuayi made it 2-0 as he slotted home from a Ruben Loftus-Cheek lay-off which calmed his nerves.
Batshuayi, more than anyone, had Conte in his ear over the 90 minutes, as the Italian continues to ponder a potential move for Swansea's experienced forward Fernando Llorente in the January window.
Conte has asked Batshuayi to develop and improve his game in terms of both physicality and hold-up play this season as he struggles to compete with the Premier League's top goalscorer, Diego Costa, for game time.
The 23-year-old cost Chelsea £33 million in the summer and showed glimpses of big-money ability, linking up well with his team-mates to get shots away in the 12th and 30th minute. However, he looked to be trying too hard to impress Conte and hit a few wayward passes while acting as his team's focal point, with John Terry's red card putting Chelsea under some pressure in the second half.
Willian made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute after a brilliant Cesc Fabregas pass started an impressive counter-attack, but Batshuayi was involved again for Pedro's second goal, holding the ball up well for the Spaniard, who once again displayed his impressive goalscoring ability.
Aside from Batshuayi, Fabregas looked class as he was given time on the ball to punish Peterborough, while Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah will have gone up in Conte's estimations as they took their chance to impress. Kurt Zouma's comeback was assured, too - especially as he hadn't played in the first-team for over 11 months.
The aforementioned group of players may have convinced Conte more than Batshuayi, but his performance was good enough to convince his manager reconsider signing Llorente from Swansea. It was not impressive enough, however, to see him use Batshuayi over Diego Costa.
Batshuayi can point to his stats and say that he has 3 goals in 4 games, but his 43rd minute strike was his first goal since August. The Belgium international needn't worry too much, though, as talk of his demise at Stamford Bridge is overblown - with even Didier Drogba struggling in his first season in west London.
He would be wise to keep his head down and follow his manager's lead though as he needs to develop his game further, while adapting to football in a better league and in a different culture.
Conte will have learned more about his summer signing too, who looked more comfortable going in behind the opposition rather than in his hold up play.
Batshuayi's display around a solid 7 out of 10 today, but his next step is to use the FA Cup to put in 9 out of 10 performances so Conte is forced to find a place for him in the team.