The bulk of goalscoring ability and responsibility of leading the line for Chelsea had fallen on the shoulders of 22-year-old Tammy Abraham this season, and it’s safe to say he has exceeded everyone’s expectations, so much so that some fans even consider him to breakaway in the England squad.
Amid the recent transfer ban imposed on Chelsea, the youth system was finally called into action as many Chelsea youngsters were given the chance to prove themselves with the first team and safe to say, many of these kids have made the most out of their opportunity.
Blues have acted fast and have tied Reece James, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Billy Gilmour all for long term contracts at the club.
Even Hudson-Odoi who was rumoured to take his talents at Bayern this summer also committed his future at the club and is now reportedly earning £180,000-a-week.
But the same hasn’t happened with Tammy Abraham yet.
The future is currently uncertain for the Chelsea striker with reports suggesting that huge expectations in weekly salary continues to be a roadblock in the club agreeing a new deal with the striker.
The rumour spread far and wide among the Chelsea fans and needless to say they weren’t impressed, some were even outraged accusing him of even holding the club at ransom.
Much to the relief of the Chelsea fans though, Tammy Abraham himself came out on social media today to dismiss the ridiculous accusation put on him.
On an Instagram post stating that the allegations regarding the salary of the Chelsea no. 9 were a fake, Abraham commented “Finally some real news”.
Rubbish rumors aside and with two years left on his contract, Chelsea fans can again look forward towards a fruitful relationship with the striker when the football resumes again.
Hakim Ziyech has a lot of things going right for him at the moment. The Moroccan attacking forward, who recently turned 27, will be arriving at Stamford Bridge for a reported fee of 40 million Euros, and is seen as a player who will massively impact the club’s fortunes with his clinical ability to score goals and provide assists.
Fans who have followed Ziyech’s exploits over the last year and a half in the Champions League are rightfully buzzed about signing him.
Ziyech ‘s transfer has, surprisingly enough, ruffled very few feathers among the Chelsea faithful, with it being a universal consensus that he will play a big role in helping the Blues consolidate this season’s progress.
The high regard in which he has been held by the fans so far, however, might have suffered a little setback after a photo of his setup on FIFA that emerged yesterday on Reddit.
The picture by itself seems innocuous – it shows Ziyech’s TV screen and his squad on Ultimate Team of the latest iteration of Electronic Arts’ football game, FIFA 20.
It’s only natural that he’s playing the game, considering all the major football leagues have been shut down owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, what will certainly bug Chelsea fans a great deal is that while Ziyech has used his own card in the position of striker, he’s inexplicably decided to opt for the playing kit of Chelsea’s arch nemesis Liverpool for the entire team.
It is no secret that this year the Merseyside club has been heavily favoured, with many of its players being highly rated on the game.
In fact, a record five players from the same club featured in the game’s highly coveted Team of The Year promotion.
Adding insult to injury, however, was Ziyech’s decision to add Reds’ manager Jürgen Klopp into the side.
While it was probably done to strengthen Virgil van Dijk’s card, Liverpool fans will have lost no time in proclaiming how even a future Blues player chooses to have Klopp in his team over his own manager.
One may, of course be reading too much into a situation that amounts to nothing. After all, the lad has proclaimed time and again his joy and appreciation for the Blues.
However, it is worth noting that in-game, at the very least, Ziyech prefers repping the Reds rather than his soon-to-be club.
As the coronavirus pandemic has taken over Europe, with many countries in shutdown and several more taking precautionary measures to control the spread of the virus, everything has come to a standstill.
This has especially impacted European football, as most of the leagues across Europe have been suspended in the past three weeks.
The Premier League was one of the final leagues to be suspended as the threat of the virus was not deemed to be as serious as it was made to be. But, it was a serious concern and there were fears among a lot of people, politicians and many more, that the lack of action could lead to a large increase in cases of the virus.
Those fears were true, as some players and staff were reported to have cases of the virus and Callum Hudson-Odoi was one of the first, who was confirmed to be infected with coronavirus.
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, was soon confirmed to be infected, as more and more cases trickled. These cases finally were enough proof for the Premier League, to suspend the league, so as to not endanger the lives of any more of the players or the staff.
With the virus affecting all parts of the globe, many footballers used their reach on social media, to warn their fans about the dangers of this virus and spread awareness as to how to keep themselves safe.
For players such as Chelsea winger, Christian Pulisic, this break was a welcome piece of news. Pulisic has missed the last eight Premier League matches with an adductor injury and has not featured in a Premier League game for them since New Year’s Day.
Since Chelsea’s Cobham Training Ground has been closed, Pulisic has been in self-quarantine and he recently posted a video, showing him doing keepie-uppies in his garden, as he was working on his return to fitness. The video was accompanied by the caption ‘Stay home and stay safe my people! At least I have my ball.’
This video was among many others from various footballers, asking people to stay safe and to stay at home, as many people have been asked to self-quarantine.
This is a welcome break for most footballers and let’s hope they make full use of it to spend time with their families, while also keeping themselves in shape, so that they will be ready to play football, when the Premier League inevitably returns.
The suspension of leagues all over Europe has been a blow for all football fans. These leagues were a source of entertainment, passion, joy and ecstasy. People could relax watching football during the weekend, after working hard all week.
That routine changed once the coronavirus pandemic entered Europe, with country after country suffering due to the nature of the virus. This has led to the suspension of football and there have been more measures adopted to ensure the safety of all the people. People have been requested to self-quarantine and to not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.
The clubs, especially in the Premier League, have taken it upon themselves to keep the fans entertained during these terrible times. They have been flooding their social media pages with throwback goals, highlights, interviews, podcasts, and whatnot.
They have also been keeping up the banter amongst themselves.
Case in point, this recent Twitter trend created by Burnley FC, wherein other clubs were asked to post one of the best goals ever scored by one of their players while also tagging the side against whom the goal was scored.
Burnley started the goal chain with a screamer from Jeff Hendrick against Bournemouth.
Bournemouth continued the chain with a Harry Wilson free-kick against Man City.
Man City tagged Arsenal, courtesy of de Bruyne’s wonder goal against them this season.
Arsenal decided to troll Spurs by uploading the goal Patrick Vieira’s goal against them during their Invincibles season of 2003-04, which won them the league at White Hart Lane.
Spurs went all the way back to the 1992-93 season for Nayim’s stunning volley against Liverpool
The biggest troll of the evening was yet to come, as when Liverpool uploaded Mohamed Salah’s wonder goal against Chelsea in front of the Kop last season, and Chelsea decided to exact revenge in the most ultimate piece of shithousery ever seen.
The Blues’ official account re-tagged Liverpool in Demba Ba’s goal against them in the 2013-14 season.
A goal which became universally infamous after Steven Gerrard slipped to cost Liverpool their first title in 24 years.
The 2019/20 season has been nothing short of a revelation for Chelsea. The Blues, renowned for their money-backed approach in building their squad, had to reassess their transfer strategy given the recent two-window transfer ban.
Going into the season with a young manager in charge, and having to rely on the young guns raised quite a bit of concern among the fans.
However, the trust put into the young team by the management has certainly paid dividends as Chelsea currently stand 4th in the Premier League table and have cemented their place in the FA Cup Quarters, beating Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on the way.
The performance of their academy graduates, such as Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Fikayo Tomori and more recently Billy Gilmour has been immensely fruitful for the London club. However, the player that seems to come of his age the most is the number 19, Mason Mount.
Following a productive loan spell at the Championship side Derby County, the 22-year-old has quickly established himself as a starter in the Chelsea squad and with each matchday, the young prospect seems to be growing more and more into his game.
The midfielder brings to the table a perfect blend of creativity and work-rate and with his incisive passing and silky feet, the player has earned himself a huge admirer in Frank Lampard.
Mount’s potential was on full display in Chelsea’s recent showdown against Everton as the Englishman pulled off a delightful 60-yard pass across the field that seemed to get stuck in the air as it travelled towards the feet of the Chelsea full-back with great precision.
Definitely one of the ‘pass of the season’ contenders and absolute beaut to say the least –
This Mason Mount pass against Everton is the content I want to see on my timeline.
Mount also broke his 18-game goal drought as he opened the scoring for Chelsea, thanks to a smooth turn and finish to the bottom left corner that gave his England team-mate Jordan Pickford no chance.
A sign of great things to come for the Blues as they look to hold on to the Champions League spots and hopefully get their hands on the FA Cup to show for their exploits.
While it has been controversial ever since it was implemented back in the 2018 World Cup, VAR has caused some major acrimony in the past few months, with players openly protesting it’s shoddy usage.
One such incident occurred the last Saturday, during the match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
While the Blues managed to beat their London rivals 2-1 despite some tense moments in the end following a Rüdiger own goal, the match overall was riddled with controversy.
One of the most shocking decisions came in the 52nd minute.
Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso, who was in possession, was shielding it from the opposition when Azpilicueta came sliding in to get the ball. He missed, however, and was instead stamped on by Lo Celso.
The referee, who did not have the best view of the incident, referred it to VAR. However, even in this situation, with the decision being so easy to make, Lo Celso got away with nothing more than a yellow card.
What’s interesting about this incident, however, was Jose Mourinho’s opinion about the situation.
The man was seen, by millions that too, on live television being directly in front of Lo Celso and Azpilicueta when the challenge happened, less than a metre away at the sideline.
Yet, when asked about it in a post match interview, all the Tottenham manager had to say was this:
“I didn’t watch it. I didn’t watch on TV and in the game. I don’t know.”
Good lord, that is some clowing of the highest order. And it is, by no means, the first or even the fifth incident of ‘The Special One’ having disparaged teams and their managers before: here’s a decent quiz on Mourinho’s many shithouse moments.
There’s no denying that Jose is certainly world class when it comes to both managerial tactics and shithouse antics.
The football gods have been cruel towards former Chelsea star Eden Hazard.
The Belgian international has been a shadow of his former self ever since his move to Real Madrid with fitness issues and injury problems plaguing the start of his career in Spain.
Hazard was considered one of the best players in Europe during his time in London, having won the Premier League and the Europa League twice with Chelsea while scoring a whopping 110 goals and providing 92 assists in the process.
Hazard duly established himself as a darling and a legend amongst the Blues faithful.
And he still continues to rep the London side despite his move to the Los Blancos as the Belgian was captured wearing his custom-made Chelsea shin pads during Real Madrid’s defeat against Levante.
Hazard wearing shin pads with the Chelsea badge on it. He still loves this club. Real Madrid fans are treating him disgracefully. I hope he comes back soon pic.twitter.com/qdyG0SZcnr
However, things are going from bad to worse for Hazard at his dream club.
After what was only his second appearance since returning from a 16-match absence due to an ankle injury, he suffered another fracture to the same ankle.
It’s still early days with respect to Eden Hazard’s Madrid career but his current situation begs us to ask the question, if a return to Chelsea is still on the cards for the Belgian.
Stamford Bridge certainly wouldn’t mind watching their beloved son back in the blue kit again.
Chelsea have been one of the few teams in the Premier League this season who have not underperformed terribly.
While yes, being in fourth place, a full thirty five points behind leaders Liverpool isn’t an ideal situation for a cash rich team that spends millions of pounds almost every year, but it is still an impressive feat considering that they were banned from buying any players in the last two transfer windows.
With the Blues being unable to fortify their squad, they were forced to rely on the depth of their squad and their youth players, and boy did it pay off handsomely.
Players like Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Fikayo Tomori and Mateo Kovacic have stepped up to the plate, delivering consistent performances on the pitch and helping Chelsea hold on to a Champions League spot.
However, it is Mason Mount that has been a revelation this season.
More than superb on loan at Derby County the season before, the twenty-one-year-old youth academy graduate has quickly risen through the ranks to become a regular starter for the first team this season.
However, it was another aspect about him that came shining through yesterday in the match against Manchester United.
With the Blues playing against the Red Devils at home in Stamford Bridge, Chelsea supporters thronged the stadium hoping to see a memorable victory.
Instead, it all went terribly wrong with United running away 2-0 victors.
While Chelsea will feel robbed by a couple of tight decisions that did not go their way, there is no denying that some of the players dropped absolute stinkers on the night.
Mason Mount, on the other hand, was one of the few bright spots alongside Kovacic in midfield and had a hand in creating a few chances.
However, it was after the match where the lad showed his true class. He went to all four corners of the stadium, applauding and thanking the fans for their attendance and support.
After yesterday’s game, Mount went to each corner of the stadium clapping the remaining fans.
This guy oozes maturity and class.
If you’re still in that bracket of thinking it’s trendy to abuse him on twitter, then you’re quite simply not Chelsea. pic.twitter.com/MqHcoY6e5s
This incident only goes to shows the amount of maturity and humility he already has at this age, and Blues fans can rest assured that this budding talent has a level head resting on his shoulders.
Among the more memorable moments of last year from the world of football, one that stands out was Ajax’s dominant run Europe’s biggest stage, the Champions League.
A bright team comprised of starlets destined for greatness like Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek helped the Dutch side storm into the semi-finals, where they eventually lost to Tottenham Hotspur.
Of course, all of this brilliance in the middle and the back would only have paid off had there been a striker of some calibre up front, and thankfully for the Godenzonen, they had the services of one of the most lethal attackers on the planet at the moment in Hakim Ziyech.
The Moroccan player usually plays as an attacking midfielder for the Dutch giants, netting a fair few amount of goals that are overshadowed by his sheer prolificacy when it comes to providing assists: last season, he scored a staggering sixteen goals and provided thirteen assists in twenty nine league games, and this season he already has six goals and twelve assists from eighteen.
That brings him to a mightily impressive statistic of having a goal contribution in every single game he’s played, a feat very rarely achieved by anyone who’s not a world class player.
Plus, the man just has a natural hunger for goals that perfectly suits his skillset, which includes a left foot to die for:
Hakim Ziyech’s left peg is coming to Chelsea and the rest of the league should be very concerned. pic.twitter.com/6AehbzjFPc
This, of course, has brought many potential suitors at his door, with Chelsea seemingly having gotten his signature on the dotted line already.
With various reports emerging that Ziyech is almost certainly joining the Blues this summer, the news only became more of a foregone conclusion when the Stamford Bridge faithful noticed this under 433s official Instagram page:
Yes, that was indeed Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham’s official Instagram account hitting the heart icon on the post.
Why wouldn’t he? After all, with Ziyech’s arrival, he would be the most to gain from those pinpoint crosses. Eventually, it turned out that Antoine Rüdiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi have also like that very same post, only fuelling a fan frenzy over the Moroccan playmaker.
It remains to be seen whether Hakim will manage to adapt to the rigors of Premier League and eventually manage to thrive here, but it goes without saying that he definitely has all the tools in his arsenal to do so.
Now, with the “backing” of his various future teammates, Ziyech is sure to be welcomed with open arms and fans will be definitely watching out for more explosive action from the in-form player.
Frank Lampard had huge voids to fill in when he walked in as the Chelsea manager. Arguably, Chelsea and Premier League’s best player Eden Hazard had just left the club for Real Madrid, there was a two window transfer ban in place and Maurizio Sarri had abandoned the ship to join Juventus.
Any manager in the world would have perhaps refused the job but Abramovich and his colleagues found the perfect man in Frank Lampard. Who else to lead Chelsea in their time of crisis other than their blue blooded legend and the top scorer in their club’s history.
Frank Lampard had his job cut out, from using academy players in the starting eleven to putting a strategy in place which by Lampard’s own admission is heavily reliant on off the ball movements.
It would be wrong to say that Frank Lampard has not had success with this current crop of young Chelsea players, however there seems to be a Maurizio Sarri sized shadow looming over Chelsea.
Some of Lampard’s ideas, mistakes and substitutions have stark similarity to the current Juventus manager. It is mildly surprising that Frank Lampard is not yet receiving flak from much of the media or the fans.
World class defensive midfielder being played out of position
Maurizio Sarri was primarily accused of being strategically very stubborn. A 4-3-3 with Jorginho at the base of the midfield, Kante in a more advanced position playing on the right hand side of Jorginho, is how Maurizio Sarri shaped his team during his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard’s appointment brought hope, it was expected of him to play Kante in his best position as a defensive midfielder. In all of Lampard’s game where Kante played, he either formed a double pivot with Jorginho or as the case was under Sarri, Kante played on the right of a three man midfield.
The English tabloids which once criticized the Italian coach for not returning to the basics with his Chelsea strategy have turned a blind eye to Frank Lampard’s similar use of N’Golo Kante.
Although Frank Lampard found success in a few matches with this formation, off late N’Golo Kante’s performance have been a reason of disgruntlement among the Stamford Bridge faithfuls.
Sarri – Jorginho = Lampard – Mount?
The first goal of the Frank Lampard era came through one of Chelsea’s academy graduate – 21 year old attacking midfielder Mason Mount.
Mason Mount’s work rate, goal scoring ability, late runs into the box and the capability to play in multiple positions makes him an absolute carbon copy of his manager.
All that being said, Mount has performed way below par in a few games, his inconsistency and his inability to turn up at moments when it matters has cost Chelsea a few points this season.
Lampard has time and again stuck with Mason Mount sacrificing Mateo Kovacic in the process – a proven box to box midfielder and an efficient dribbler.
Similar accusations were made against Maurizio Sarri after he chose to stick with Jorginho in spite of the playmakers quite evident inability to provide defensive cover to the back four.
The curious case of Ross Barkley
The midweek London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal saw Frank Lampard substitute Mateo Kovacic at the 65th minute with Ross Barkley.
One of the popular substitutions during the Maurizio Sarri era was also the introduction of Ross Barkley in place of Mateo Kovacic around the 70th minute mark.
With 7 goals and 5 assists in 63 games in all competitions, the problem is not with the similarity but with the fact that Ross Barkley has failed to prove himself under either manager.
Similar strategies or long-lasting Sarriball effect
It would be oversimplifying a complex situation if one would say Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard has a similar style of management.
It would not be entirely wrong to say that there has been a change of culture at Chelsea since Lampard’s appointment with the highlight of the season being academy players coming through.
It would be almost criminal to say that Frank Lampard and Maurizio Sarri have similar ways of playing.
The outcome of their managerial tenures might have similarities, that is because those are the symptoms of a club underperforming.
The clock’s ticking for Lamps
Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Di Matteo, Antonio Conte – just a few world class managers who have had a taste of Chelsea’s revolving door policy when it comes to managers.
Only time will tell how long Frank Lampard will stay but if he has to secure his stay, he has to find the answers.
With 3 games against top 6 teams in the coming weeks and an UCL knockout fixture against Bayern Munich, Lampard has to find answers fast. It won’t be long before his get-out-of-jail free card of being a club legend expires.
When Maurizio Sarri left Stamford Bridge after a single year in London, most pundits were expecting Jorginho to follow his former manager out of the club just as he followed him from Napoli to Chelsea.
While the Italian was subjected to some harsh criticism last season he has since established himself as one of Frank Lampard’s go-to men and has been pivotal in the Blues’ chase for a top four spot so far this season.
The dynamic midfielder has also been turning heads with his signature ‘skip/hop’ penalty technique and has incredibly managed to convert 15 of his last 16 spot kicks.
While his technique is not everyone’s cup of tea, the unorthodox style has seemingly made a good impression on rumoured Chelsea target Timo Werner who recently uploaded a video clip (below) of him trying out the technique during a training session.
6 – Most goals by players currently aged under 25 within the top 5 European leagues in 2019-20 (all comps):
Timo Werner: 23 Kylian Mbappé: 18 Marcus Rashford: 15 Lautaro Martínez: 13 Tammy Abraham: 13 Victor Osimhen: 13
Timo Werner has been sensational so far this season
Blues fans were quick to notice the video on Instagram which mentioned Jorginho by name and will be hoping that the German’s admiration for the midfielder is a sign of an impending move to the Bridge with certain new reports suggesting that his transfer could be completed as soon as this January.
Timo Werner on his Instagram taking Jorginho styled penalties…
Chelsea earned some much needed breathing space in the race for the top four spots after Frank Lampard’s men bested rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 last Sunday.
Jose Mourinho would have had high hopes about his side’s chances ahead of the game but the hosts were unable to respond to Willian’s brace during the contest which also saw Son sent off under debatable circumstances.
While the attacking quality from Chelsea forwards caught the eye, the work done by the Blues back 3 during the game also deserves major praise.
Fikayo Tomori especially impressed with his adept shackling of Harry Kane with the defender having the measure of the England talisman throughout the fixture.
While the 22-year-old managed to keep one of the best forwards in the league in his pocket on Sunday, he was absolutely taken to town by a Chelsea under-8 player while being involved in a Christmas feature for the club.
The young lad absolutely destroyed Fikayo Tomori! Check out a clip of the incident here:
Frank Lampard’s Chelsea stole a march in the top 4 race by securing a vital 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The win over Jose Mourinho’s side coupled with Manchester United’s shock defeat to Watford has given the Blues some much needed breathing space at the highly contested 4th position in the league.
While the home supporters had every right to be angry after seeing their side trail by two Willian goals, the behaviour of certain fans towards the end was just disgraceful and marked the latest racist incident to blight English football.
The pathetic abuse directed at him didn’t even go close to stopping Antonio Rüdiger however with the defender playing a vital role as the Blues back 3 thwarted Tottenham’s push for a comeback.
The German international slotted in effortlessly with Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori to keep the dangerous Spurs attack at bay and the trio also shared an iconic moment towards the end which was thoroughly enjoyed by Blues fans.
After Tomori sensationally diverted Harry Kane’s shot in the 96th minute, the three defenders immediately sought each other out for hi-fives and fans on Twitter absolutely loved the chemistry budding within their new blackline.
Brilliant moment between the Chelsea back 3! Check out a clip of the moment here :
Chelsea booked their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League in dramatic fashion with a narrow 2-1 victory over Lille at the Stamford Bridge while last year’s semi-finalists Ajax crashed out of the competition.
Frank Lampard’s side went into the game knowing fully well that anything besides a win would see them knocked out of Europe’s elite competition and ultimately made the cut courtesy of goals from Tammy Abraham and Cesar Azpilicueta.
While he did not get himself on the scoresheet, Christian Pulisic continued on his good form for the Blues with another strong performance during a crunch game.
The American endured a difficult start to life in London but has turned things around recently and is now considered be one of the first names on Lampard’s teamsheet.
The youngster was a constant thorn in Lille’s side throughout the game and the home fans acknowledged his role in the win by giving the winger a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 62nd minute.
Chelsea seem to have decided to pull out all the stops as they prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their famous FA Cup victory in 1970.
The rather infamous triumph was overseen by Dav Sexton in the dugout over Don Revie’s Leeds side at Old Trafford and will probably be remembered for its feistiness rather than the football played but was nevertheless an important piece of silverware in the club’s history.
The West Londoners have prepared a new jersey to commemorate the occasion which looks to be a must buy for everyone associated with the Blues if a recent trailer released by the club is anything to go by.
While there has been no confirmation from the club’s side, most fans seem to agree that the jersey will probably be a limited edition shirt and looks to be designed using the colors which was used in the kit specifically created for the 1970 FA Cup replay final.
Set to come out on the 21st of December, the fans are definitely in for a treat when they get their hands on what looks to be a brilliant retro shirt from the club.
The badge looks absolutely golden! Check out the trailer released by Chelsea here:
Chelsea got back to winning ways during the weekend after the players put in an absolute shift to come back with three crucial points from Vicarage Road.
While the score suggests they only managed to eke out a narrow 2-1 win, it doesn’t tell the full story.
Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic struck at Vicarage Road
The Blues were in charge for the majority of the game, buoyed by the efforts of their dynamic duo in the middle of the field, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
The two players ended up with a combined 265 passes at 95% accuracy, with an accumulated possession of 22.2% between them.
For context, the entire Watford team could only conjure up 33.3% possession throughout the 90 minutes, meaning the pair had as much as two-thirds of the possession as the Hornets managed.
Kovacic, with 154 touches, the most by player on the field during the game, was seen frequently driving forward with purpose and adding to the attacking impulse of his time.
He managed to complete 11 of his 12 attempted long balls, while also managing to win as many as 7 duels which highlights his contribution both in attack and in defence. As long as he keeps up this rich vein of form, the Stamford Bridge faithful won’t be missing the injured Kante much.
As for Jorginho, the Italian midfield maestro completed 11 hard-fought recoveries and as many as 4 interceptions. The 27-year-old also threaded four neat through balls splitting Watford’s defence, the first of which was delightfully finished by Tammy Abraham to open Chelsea’s account. He also created two chances and apart from the yellow card late in the game had a near-perfect game.
Both Jorginho and Kovacic have flourished under Lampard this season
While Jorginho has already cemented his place as a favourite of both the fans and the manager, Real Madrid-reject Kovacic has also done well so far to win the trust of his manager.
Along with Kante, the three have been the fulcrum of the team’s success in the season uptil now and will be hopeful of kickstarting another winning streak after a 2-1 loss against Manchester United in the cup in their last outing.
Chelsea racked up a fifth successive Premier League victory with a 2-1 success at Watford, whose winless start to the season has entered club-record territory.
Frank Lampard’s men are enjoying an impressive campaign and earned the three points at Vicarage Road thanks to goals from Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic.
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic reportedly broke football analysis website Squawka’s heatmap after he gave a masterful performance on Saturday.
The Croatia international put in a real shift alongside Jorginho at the heart of the Chelsea midfield and his performance received special praise from fans and pundits.
Squawka released an image of Kovacic’s heatmap during the Watford game with his stats but the image was black and white in color as opposed to the normal red and green heatmaps.
The graphic drew comments from Twitter users with one fan questioning why the heatmap was black and white and another user claiming that the image looked like a ‘psycho’s heatmap’.
The official Squawka account was quick to reply saying that Kovacic’s performance with 154 touches and 140 passes may have broken the heatmap which resulted in the odd color.
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