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Lille vs Chelsea: Three Talking Points from Blues’ narrow win

In this article, we take a look at three talking points from the Champions League clash between Lille and Chelsea.

Bengaluru, October 3: Frank Lampard's European ventures as a manager didn't get off to a great start last month as Chelsea lost 1-0 to Valencia in their opening group stage tie. And, he led his troops to France to face LOSC Lille in search for his first European win on Wednesday (October 2).

It was a close game but Willian's excellent second-half volley helped the new Chelsea boss to grab his first European win in the second innings of his career.

Tammy Abraham kept up his impressive form with a strike to give Chelsea lead while LOSC Lille equalised through youngster Victor Osimhen who is enjoying a good run of form after replacing the boots of Nicolas Pepe.

Here are three key talking points from the game:

Lampard's belief in youngsters pays off

Lampard, during his managerial career so far, has already garnered a reputation of being supportive towards the young players. He never seems afraid to send a young player directly in a tough game which is praiseworthy especially for a young and inexperienced manager.

The likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham are regulars in his side and both have been impressive. Fikayo Tomori has also done well since he got his chance and has kept his place in the starting XI. On Wednesday (October 2), Lampard gave 19-year-old Reece James his European debut and the youngster was really impressive.

Lille have a great replacement of Pepe already

It was a major blow for LOSC Lille when they had to sell their star player Nicolas Pepe although they received a huge amount for the Ivorian. The club reinvested that money to reinforce their squad and it was a busy summer for them.

However, it was never easy to replace a player like Pepe who was the heart of everything positive for the club last season.
But it seems like they have got a solid replacement of the 24-year-old in youngster Victor Osimhen who already has seven goals in 10 games this season in all competitions and scored against Chelsea as well.

Tammy Abraham earned his England call-up

On Thursday (October 3), England announced their 25-man squad to face the Czech Republic and Bulgaria in the forthcoming Euro Cup 2020 qualifiers and it was hardly a surprise to see Tammy Abraham named in the squad.

Fikayo Tomori also earned his first call-up for the Three Lions and the duo must be grateful to Lampard for the belief he showed in the youngsters.

Abraham turned 22 on Wednesday and the forward marked his birthday with his first-ever Champions League goal. England really have a special striker in their books and we have to wait and see how he fares for the Three Lions in future.

Story first published: Thursday, October 3, 2019, 20:28 [IST]
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