Kenneth received his weekly pay. Having recently signed a new junior contract with Manchester City, his wage was now £600 per week.
This might seem modest compared to the thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, that professional players make every week, but when compared to average annual salaries in many Eastern European countries, £600 weekly was actually quite respectable.
His mother, Jessica Lim, frequently reminded Kenneth to manage his money wisely. Kenneth himself put away around 20% of his earnings for savings or investments, using the remaining 80% for his personal expenses.
For now, he was saving his money, planning to buy the upcoming iPhone 6, set to be released on September 19, 2014.
The third week of the Barclays U21 Premier League kicked off, and in the morning, Kenneth joined the U21 squad on their trip to face Chelsea away.
The match would be held at Kingsmeadow Stadium, with a seating capacity of 4,722. In Chelsea's U21 squad this year were some familiar names who'd begun making their mark: Nathan Ake, Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dominic Solanke, and others. Chelsea certainly had a strong academy setup.
The match started at 2:00 PM.
Chelsea fielded a 4-3-3 lineup: Beeney; Aina, Chalobah, Christensen, Todd Kane; Colkett, Lewis Baker, Loftus-Cheek; Kiwomya, Bamford, Boga.
Meanwhile, Manchester City put Ian Lawlor in goal. Bossaerts started as right-back, Angelino on the left, and Patrick Vieira rotated the squad by fielding Shay Facey alongside Jason Denayer in central defense. George Evans played as a defensive midfielder, with Kenneth Lee and Seko Fofana in front of him. The front trio consisted of Bytyqi on the right, Devante Cole on the left, and Iheanacho up front.
Vieira had made significant changes to the starting lineup, likely due to City's conceding five goals in their first two matches.
Iheanacho took the kickoff, passing left to Cole, who then played it back. Chelsea set up a mid-block, allowing City possession as long as they stayed out of Chelsea's half.
Kenneth dropped deeper to help Evans maintain calm possession. As he passed to Angelino, Kiwomya pressed, cutting off Angelino's passing options. The left-back had no choice but to play it back, as Chelsea's disciplined pressing restricted their options.
In the 9th minute, on City's right side, Kenneth combined with Bytyqi and Bossaerts, exchanging quick one-twos that broke through Chelsea's press. Near the penalty area, Bossaerts passed to Kenneth, but just as Kenneth moved to receive it, he was forcefully tackled from behind, stumbling as he lost the ball.
Loftus-Cheek collected the loose ball, and with no whistle from the referee, Chelsea launched a counter-attack.
"That was a foul!" Bossaerts shouted at the referee while sprinting back to defend.
Bytyqi helped Kenneth up. "You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get back into position."
Fortunately, Chelsea's counter fell short, with Ian Lawlor making a save off Bamford's shot.
Manchester City resumed control, but Chelsea's press was tough to break. Even when City neared the penalty box, Chelsea surrounded Iheanacho, forcing City to resort to long shots from outside the box.
Gradually, Kenneth began to notice that Ruben Loftus-Cheek was marking him closely. He had already been brought down four times by this player. As a result, Kenneth tried to keep his touches brief, passing the ball to a teammate as soon as he received it.
In the 43rd minute, the deadlock was finally broken. Kenneth took a corner kick, and after a scramble in the box, the ball bounced out to Angelino, who struck it from outside the penalty area, drilling the ball into Chelsea's net to put City ahead 1-0. This score held until the end of the first half.
In the second half, Vieira brought on Ambrose to replace Iheanacho, who had been isolated and had few touches in the first half. Vieira instructed Thierry Ambrose to drop deeper to support the midfield instead of staying up front.
As the second half began, Chelsea played more openly. Loftus-Cheek showcased his abilities—not only was he physically strong, but his technical skills were impressive, with many touting him as a talented box-to-box midfielder.
In the 51st minute, Kenneth played a through ball to Ambrose, but Christensen beat Ambrose to it, passing it forward to Chalobah, who launched the ball upfield. Fofana and Loftus-Cheek competed in the air, with Loftus-Cheek winning the header and directing it to Chelsea's captain, Lewis Baker. Baker passed to Boga, who dribbled past Bossaerts and unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box. Lawlor managed to parry the ball, but it fell to Loftus-Cheek, who sent it straight into the net to tie the game 1-1.
Determined to win, Chelsea brought on Charly Musonda for Colkett and Solanke for Bamford, intensifying the competition. Both teams created several chances, but neither could capitalize.
In the 70th minute, Kenneth seized a critical moment, intercepting the ball from Loftus-Cheek with a quick, decisive challenge. Instantly, he burst forward, weaving through the midfield with precision and urgency. Spotting Bytyqi on the wing, he delivered a sharp pass and continued his relentless sprint into Chelsea's final third.
Bytyqi took advantage of the momentum, surging past Chelsea's left-back Todd Kane with a burst of speed. As he neared the byline, he cut a low, angled cross into the box, finding Ambrose. With defenders Chalobah and Christensen bearing down, and goalkeeper Beeney anticipating a strike, Ambrose executed a brilliant backheel flick.
Kenneth, timing his approach perfectly, met the ball with a powerful shot. In one smooth motion, he sent it soaring past the defenders and into the back of Chelsea's net, igniting cheers from his teammates as the scoreboard shifted in City's favor.
"Ambrose! Over here!" Kenneth called, embracing Ambrose.
"Great pass, mate. How did you know I'd be there?"
"I figured you'd be right behind, looking for a chance," Ambrose laughed, recognizing Kenneth's knack for scoring.
Kenneth could only laugh. It seemed his teammates had already picked up on his tendencies and playing style.
The game resumed, with Chelsea pressing hard to equalize, but they couldn't create any clear chances. Near the end, Chelsea was awarded a free kick. Loftus-Cheek took it, but the ball struck the crossbar.
Manchester City U21 left Chelsea's ground with all three points. Kenneth earned Man of the Match, scoring an 8.9 rating. For his attribute gains, he allocated three points to stamina, tackling, and positioning, as he had previously.