text: It was, as so often this season, the story of two Chelsea rising stars in the form of their young lives. They have rampaged through opposition defences both at home and abroad all season. They have already been crowned kings of Europe in the UEFA Youth League. And here, with yet another devastating performance, they put Chelsea within touching distance of retaining the FA Youth Cup, in the process further augmenting their remarkable goalscoring tallies and enhancing their growing reputations. Tammy Abraham wheels away in celebration as he notches for Chelsea away at Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup final first leg . Chelsea striker Abraham opens the scoring against Manchester with an impressive right-footed shot into the far corner . Isaac Buckley-Ricketts is mobbed by his Manchester City team-mates following his equaliser against Chelsea in the Youth Cup . Abraham is congratulated by his Chelsea team-mates as his acrobatic effort regained their advantage against Manchester City . Abraham is congratulated by his Chelsea team-mates having given the west London side the lead against Manchester City . After Manchester City were put to the sword in this first leg on Monday night, the pair’s records for the season stand like this: Tammy Abraham - 36 goals; Dominic Solanke - 35 goals. That’s one hell of a return. Both are in that special moment of form where it is nigh on impossible to miss and that was the case here as the dark Blues from London established a healthy advantage to take into the second leg at Stamford Bridge in seven days’ time. When Solanke had raced through to make it 3-1 just before the end, you sensed it was a fatal blow. Of course there is a chance City may fight back - nothing is out of the question in youth football - but there was something about Chelsea’s dominance here that suggests it is unlikely. This was the most high-profile meeting yet of England’s two most ambitious and well-resourced academies and, for the moment, it is definitely Chelsea who are on top. Another tickertape parade surely awaits for this group of players next week. ‘Obviously it’s a daunting place to come,’ said Chelsea coach Joe Edwards. ‘But we wanted to make sure we did what we do best, dominate possession, get right up against them and press hard. The way the lads implemented what we spoke about before the game was outstanding.’ Indeed it was and the unfailing right boot of Abraham provided a moment to savour after just seven minutes. Even the technically fiendish chances are flying in for the unstoppable England under 18 forward at the moment and that was proven when he controlled Charlie Colkett’s laser-guided cross-field pass and sent the ball arrowing beyond goalkeeper Christian Haug into the top corner. Within minutes, Abraham was trending on Twitter, clips of his immaculate hit racking up the retweets the world over. By half-time, his name was attracting more interest in the UK than any other subject. By then he had a second, restoring Chelsea’s lead on 20 minutes after Isaac Buckley had briefly restored parity for the hosts. Goal No 36 of the campaign wasn’t quite as memorable as No 35 but it was athletic, Abraham hooking the ball home from six yards out after Izzy Brown’s header from a Colkett corner had been saved by the foot of Haug and then headed back into his vicinity. From then, aside from a five-minute flurry late on when City had genuine chances to equalise, Chelsea were in complete command. They enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and looked comfortable in their game plan, in each other and in themselves. Chelsea youngster Dominic Solanke scores the west London side's third goal of the game with just minutes to play . Manchester City goalkeeper Christian Kjetil Haug comes under pressure from Chelsea as both sides look to win the aerial ball . Solanke’s late third was a hammer blow after the City pressure, a typically calm finish after Charly Musonda slipped him through. It had actually been a quiet night for Solanke but this goal preserves his remarkable record of scoring in every round of this season’s Youth Cup. Incidentally, he also scored in every round of their Youth League triumph too for good measure. City, who were watched by Manuel Pellegrini, Vincent Kompany, Aleksander Kolarov and a near-full house at their handsome Academy Stadium, had levelled within two minutes of Abraham’s opener. Chelsea were guilty of a lapse in defensive concentration very unlike them and City swept through to punish. Under-fire Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini (centre) enjoys a night in the sun as he watches the club's future stars in action . Goalscorer Abraham shows he's not scared of a tackle as he comes up against Manchester City's Manuel Garcia in the FA Youth Cup final . Injured Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany watches on as the club's youngest stars take on Chelsea in Manchester . Manchester City: Haug; Maffeo, Humphreys-Grant, Adarabioyo (c), Angelino; Bryan, Nemane Celina, Garcia (Dilrosun 85), Buckley, Barker . Substitutes not used: Albinson (GK); Tattum, Diallo, Fernandes . Scorer: Buckley 9 . Chelsea: Collins; Aina, Tomori, Clarke-Salter, Dasilva, Sammut, Brown (Boga 90+1), Colkett (c), Abraham (Palmer 67), Musonda (Scott 89), Solanke . Substitutes not used: Thompson (GK); Palmer, Grant . Scorers: Abraham 7, 20; Solanke 89 . Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire) Attendance: 6,421 . Brandon Barker spent much of the first-half struggling in his battle with Ola Aina on the City left but on this occasion, he dived in-field and made a purposeful run in the direction of the Chelsea box. Looking up, he saw Buckley darting through and supplied a slide-rule pass that the forward slickly rolled past Bradley Collins into the far corner. But they didn't kick on and seize control. Abraham’s exertions eventually took their toll and he went off in some discomfort midway through the second-half. It proved the catalyst for a City revival and the chances missed in this bright spell would prove costly. First, Aaron Nemane nutmegged Jake Clarke-Salter and brushed off Ruben Sammut but blazed wastefully wide. And there was soon an even-better chance for Kean Bryan, who stole the ball from Colkett, but fired over from a great position. They ramped it up further with Barker running clear down the left and forcing Collins to block with his feet. A minute or two later, Solanke scored. Edwards was proud of the performance but still exercised a note of caution: ‘We got the goal on the break, Dominic was very clinical and I think that 3-1 scoreline doesn’t overly flatter us because their spell was just a spell in amongst a game we dominated. ‘We don’t need to be reminded that you need to be switched on and professional next week.’ His City counterpart Jason Wilcox was bullish about the chances of a comeback: ‘It’s definitely not game over, we’ll go down to Stamford Bridge and anything can happen down there. If we get a goal, we’ll see what character they’ve got. At 3-1 we’re still in the tie.' But for that to happen, they’ll have to neutralise Chelsea’s relentless, remorseless forward duo. Chelsea youngster Jake Clarke Salter battles alongside Manuel Garcia during the FA Youth Cup final first leg in Manchester . Manchester City coaching duo Patrick Vieira and Brian Kidd watch on as Manchester City's young stars take on Chelsea in Manchester . Chelsea striker Isaiah Brown does his best to brush away the attentions of Manchester City's Pablo Matteo in the first half .
target: Tammy Abraham opened the scoring for Chelsea with a fine strike with just seven minutes of the game played .
  But, Chelsea's lead didn't last long as the hosts levelled the scores two minutes later via Isaac Buckley .
  Some poor defending from Manchester City allowed Abraham to grab an acrobatic second to restore their lead .
  Chelsea wrapped up the win in the closing stages when Dominic Solanke broke free and slotted an effort home .