New Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has had a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge, as his new-look and youthful Chelsea squad find their footing in the league. The Blues lost heavily to Manchester United on the opening day of the season following by a draw with Leicester City, a hard-fought win against Norwich City, and another draw against newcomers Sheffield United.
The London club could have a long and difficult season ahead of them with players not playing at their best, but there have been a few that have done well so far.
Let’s take a look at 3 most impressive Chelsea players so far this season under Frank Lampard:
Mason Mount
One characteristic of Frank Lampard as a manager so far has been his decision (somewhat forced) to give opportunities to young players, which he did at Derby County and has continued this season at Chelsea. 20-year-old Mason Mount has repaid the faith put in by his manager for the second year running, having played under Lampard last season at Derby as well.
The young English attacking midfielder has scored two goals this season and has played each of the four league games in the 2019-20 season so far. Mount is perhaps one of the most important players in the side, linking midfield and attack effectively while also scoring 2 goals thus far.
Tammy Abraham
Chelsea have had trouble in finding a striker who is consistent and scores plenty of goals since the departure of Spanish forward Diego Costa. The Blues’ last two big-name strikers, Gonzalo Higuain and Álvaro Morata both failed at Stamford Bridge. With the departure of Eden Hazard, Chelsea needed an attacker to step up and score at least 15 goals in the season, and they could have found that striker in Tammy Abraham.
Another young English player who has been pushed by Lampard, Abraham has already scored four goals in four games, which included a brace this past weekend against Sheffield United. The 21-year-old has bounced back from racist comments that he faced from his own club’s fans on social media following his penalty miss in the UEFA Super Cup loss against Liverpool and looks set for an important season ahead.
César Azpilicueta
Captain César Azpilicueta is the longest-serving current Chelsea player and the experienced Spanish full-back, along with left-back Emerson, has been good at the back despite the centre-backs struggling. Azpilicueta has averaged 3 tackles a game, 2.5 clearances on an average, and aggregated 6 key passes in the first four games of the season.
The Spaniard has quietly gone about his work, being a steady figure in attack and defence for the Blues and will have to maintain his level for the rest of the season.