Chelsea have shown a decent amount of progress under new boss Frank Lampard. The previous manager Maurizio Sarri parted ways with the club after leading them to the Europa League crown at Baku, last year. The task at hand for Lampard was daunting as the former England international had to keep up with the standards of the club that too without Eden Hazard who chose Real Madrid as his destination after netting a brace in the Europa League final.
Lampard had very little experience as a manager at the time when he took over at Chelsea and the club was also banned from signing any players for two transfer windows.
With Hazard’s departure and no new players coming in, Lampard had his back against the wall but he has proven all his naysayers wrong this season, showing his wide range as a manager. His enormous faith in the youngsters and religious adherence to employing an attacking gameplay successfully gained the trust of the fans with his existing passion for the badge being the cherry on top.
Though Lampard’s men have been successful against clubs like Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Ajax, the young side has often faltered against dominating outfits like Bayern Munich and Manchester City. They have also struggled to finish off games after decent starts which Lampard has been quite vocal about.
Currently, Chelsea are placed 4th in the Premier League and will loathe missing out on a UCL berth for next season from their current standing.
With the team set to be back in action on Sunday, here we will look at 3 players who will be crucial in ensuring Chelsea meet their target this season.
Tammy Abraham
Tammy Abraham was handed the coveted striker’s role at the club by Lampard at the start of the season and the England international has repaid the trust handsomely.
But his eye-catching displays have mostly been against teams in the mid-table with the player failing to have much of an impact against the big guns.
Chelsea still have fixtures against Manchester City, Liverpool and Wolves and Lampard will hope his main striker will be able to come up with the goods. On a personal level as well Tammy will be eager to impress, with Timo Werner arriving at the Bridge before next season.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Chelsea’s no.1 has had his ups and downs this season. He has made a number of costly errors and has not been at his best. This saw his being dropped for a short period where Willy Caballero was given a chance to impress. But Lampard has fallen back on the Spaniard who will have to pick up his game.
Improved displays hereon in will be beneficial for both the team and the player as Chelsea look to mount a serious challenge for the title next season and will be ruthless in the transfer market at the end of the season.
N’golo Kante
Chelsea have not been able to enjoy the full range of the World Cup winning midfielder’s capabilities this season partly due to injury and partly due to the player not been able to hit top form.
He has slowly settled into his rhythm as the season has gone on but is far from his peak.
An in-form Kante provides the much-needed support to the backline which makes Chelsea a strong outfit defensively despite their attacking approach. The shortest man in the squad can also chip in with goals and is the main source of counter-attacks for the fast-paced Chelsea frontline.
