Frank Lampard was delighted with his young lads on Saturday afternoon after they conveniently saw of the challenge from Burnley. Chelsea were victorious in a 3-0 encounter and the manager was especially pleased with the performance of 19-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi who got the sealer in the second half.
“For Callum to score in the six-yard box is more exciting than him scoring from 30 yards without a doubt,” said Lampard of Hudson-Odoi, who signed a five-year contract in July.
“It means he is willing to get in there. It wasn’t the only time he did that. His overall performance was a statement of what he has to do.
“That was the real Callum. If he carries on like that we will have a real player.”
Callum had struggled to regain the impressive form he put on show last season and even admitted to the fact. The player revealed he fears a relapse into injury. It’s not strange to see players doing so well but then injury hits and it just takes a few months, and games to regain form if they ever do. It’s often down to management to help with overcoming such moments. Lampard has obviously gotten through to him and his strength is coming to forth again with back to back goals in the FA Cup and the league.
Chelsea have lost five of their last nine games with three of those coming at the hands of relegation embattled teams.
Burnley were defensively perfect for the first 25 minutes of the game but a rash challenge on Willian inside the 18-yard-box gave Jurginho the chance to score the first goal of the match from the penalty spot.
The Blues got a second through a header Tammy Abraham.
Chelsea are now five points above Manchester United in fifth and are comfortably occupying that fourth Champions League spot.
“It was just what we needed in terms of performance. We should have scored more but I can’t complain because we scored in the first half. We’ve got nervous before when we’ve had a measure of possession but not scored,” Lampard said.
“We were so positive from minute one. It’s a big win and one we must pick up on and replicate. It’s a nice example of the standard we have set.
“It feels nice to smile in a game and enjoy what you are watching.”
Getting two in the first half allowed the home side to be more relaxed in their second-half approach to the game.
Chelsea remains fourth on the log while Burnley keeps looking over their shoulders at 15th.