Lampard lays down the perfect blueprint for his Chelsea ‘babies’
FRANK Lampard felt his Chelsea “babies” came of age in the Champions League after their stunning 1-0 win to Ajax.
Michy Batshuayi climbed off the bench to fire the Stamford Bridge side to a memorable victory in Amsterdam.
The Belgian striker made amends for a shocking earlier miss four minutes from time to hand last season’s semi-finalists their first defeat of this campaign.
The Blues rode their luck at times, not least when an Ajax goal was ruled out by VAR for the tightest of offside calls, and when the hosts hit the frame of the goal.
But Lampard’s young side grew in stature as a frantic, tetchy encounter wore on and ran out deserved winners when Batshuayi rifled in off the underside of the crossbar.
“I’m delighted with every element of the performance,” said Lampard. “It feels huge – it’s just six points in the group and we play Burnley on Saturday – but I think we’re allowed to be excited tonight.
“That’s the blueprint. There are no excuses for us now. That’s the standard and we can’t drop it.
“The young players are still babies in terms of Champions League minutes so this was a huge test for them.
“There was a good balance of young players and experience. We need to realise the things that made that happen tonight because Ajax are a top, top team.”
Lampard was indebted to his substitutes after the lively Christian Pulisic set up the goal for Batshuayi.
“The subs were second to none,” Lampard added. “Sometimes the hardest thing is leaving someone out, but it’s great for the spirit of the squad when subs come on and have an impact like that. I was frustrated when Michy missed, and whatever had happened after that I would have been proud, but I know Michy can finish.
“Christian’s assist is as important as the finish, and the fact the sub scored makes me so happy.”
Ajax had the ball in the net in the 34th minute when Dusan Tadic played in Ziyech, whose attempted curler was deflected into the path of Quincy Promes.
But Chelsea breathed again after VAR ruled that Promes, or at least a microscopic part of him, was offside before he slid the ball home.
Just before half-time Cesar Azpilicueta, a survivor from the last time Chelsea visited the Johan
Cruyff Arena in the 2013 Europa League final, was sent clear by Mount but fired high and wide.
After the break Tadic was fortunate to escape a red card for leaving an arm in on Willian, before Chelsea got lucky again when Edson Alvarez’s header clipped the far post.
The industrious Tammy
Abraham was taken off with 20 minutes remaining and replaced by Batshuayi, who immediately missed a glorious chance.
A stray shot ricocheted to the feet of the Belgian, six yards out in front of goal, but he skied his shot horribly.
Fellow substitute Pulisic went on a dazzling run before pulling his effort across goal and wide as Chelsea.
But when Pulisic pulled the ball back in the six-yard area Batshuayi was on hand to fire home and a sixth straight win for Lampard’s side.
It could have been different had VAR not spotted that Quincy Promes, or at least a microscopic part of him, was offside before he slid the ball home in the first half, while Edson Alvarez grazed a post in the second period.
Captain Dusan Tadic said: “I think it was 50-50. Chelsea are a good club, but we can do better.
“We were sloppy and made easy mistakes. Now we have to focus again on the next game.”
IT IS all about momentum for Kiran McDonald as he tries to use his first real run of games in a Glasgow Warriors shirt to make sure the return of the Rugby World Cup squad does not end his involvement in the side.
As a lock, he knows the performances Jonny Gray and Scott Cummings put in during their time in Japan have put them in pole position to wear the jerseys for most of the big matches but then he also looks at Cummings, in particular, and sees reassurance that chances will come if he deserves them.
“It’s been good to get a run of games,” McDonald said. “We got a win last time out, so we’ve got a nice bit of momentum heading into this weekend. Personally, it’s just about keeping my momentum going and, hopefully, getting another start.
“Young guys don’t get forgotten about at this club. If you’re training well and performing well, then the coaches will look at you more seriously every week.
“Scotty [Cummings] is a role model to me, I’ve known him for a fair few years now. If I can get into the same position as him in that short space of time, that would be amazing.”
What is important for McDonald is to see proof that a player will be given the chance to go from the fringes to a pivotal role if he puts in the work and performs in games.
Cummings, after all, was struggling to get into the first XV at the start of this year, got his chance when rivals were away in the Six Nations, grabbed it with both hands
ENGLAND centre Manu Tuilagi is ready to face the team he followed avidly as a youngster admitting he could never match the achievements of the player he idolised most of all.
Tuilagi will be present in the centre for Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at International Stadium Yokohama for the biggest 80 minutes of the Eddie Jones era.
Samoan-born Tuilagi grew up watching the All Blacks and it was Jonah Lomu who really fired his imagination.
For all his own reputation as a tackle-busting threequarter, Tuilagi insists the New Zealand great was a unique talent.
“You’d always watch the All Blacks back in Samoa. It was Super 12 back in the day,” Tuilagi said. “We watched all the All Blacks players playing in that tournament, so it’s exciting now to be playing against them.
“Big Jonah – I was a massive fan. Just the way he played. No one plays like him. Big legend of the game. I tried to be like him. You try, but you don’t succeed.”
New Zealand have not lost a World Cup match for a remarkable 12 years and Jones has acclaimed them as the greatest team in the history of sport.
A third global crown beckons for the strong favourites who booked their semi-final spot with a stunning 46-14 demolition of Ireland, a team England have defeated heavily twice this year.
“We’re going against the best in the world. They’re a quality team and we’re looking forward to the challenge. It is going to be tough, but these are the games you want to play,” said Tuilagi.
“For me, you’ve got to enjoy every moment. This is the big moment. Sometimes you forget, with everything that’s going on, but when you really think about it, this is the dream come true.
“And because of that you’ve got to enjoy every moment of it. If you enjoy it, that will allow you to do your job.”
In 2012 Tuilagi was part of the side that famously routed the All Blacks 38-21 at Twickenham, but two years later England fell to a 3-0 series whitewash against Steve Hansen’s men.
“Everyone just needs to do their job and not try to do anything amazing,” Tuilagi said.
“In 2012 it was all about each player from one to 23 doing their job as well as they can and that is exactly what we need to do this weekend – just focus on your own job and the performance will take care of itself.”
JOSH TAYLOR did a public workout for the cameras at Spitalfields market in London yesterday as the hours ticked down to Saturday’s world title unification bout against Regis Prograis at the O2 in London.
It was all a far cry from how his camp kicked off in time-honoured fashion with some sprints on the beach just miles from his hometown of Prestonpans under the watchful eye of his old amateur coach Terry McCormack of Lochend Boxing Club in the shadow of Easter Road.
As much credit as Shane McGuigan deserves for helping make Taylor world champion with a perfect record from his 15 pro fights, Taylor will find reassurance when the lights go down on Saturday evening from having a man in his corner who he regards as a father figure.
That support team will be as crucial as ever on Saturday as the IBF super lightweight champion faces the similarly undefeated WBA champion Prograis, with both men’s titles, the Ring Magazine belt and the Muhammad Ali Trophy for the winner of the World Boxing Super Series on the line.
“I did some sprints up at Port Seton, Longniddry way, just a couple of miles along the beach from Prestonpans,” Taylor said. “Every time I fight, I always make sure to spend some time up here with Terry. He always has me out doing something, keeping fit, here – doing everything.
“Terry knows me inside out, he has known me ever since I was a young lad, just 16, 17 years old,” the 28-year-old added. “I know him and I trust him with my life. He is almost like a second father to me. I feel like I can talk to him about anything and I fully trust him.
“It is great to know when it comes to the O2 that I have someone there in my corner that I can trust with my life. There have been loads of times when I have turned to him for bits of advice, or just talked to him about things that are going on. He was in the ring with me all the way through my amateur career, and in my pro career I want to take him with me.”
A bumper Scottish travelling support is expected to follow Taylor to the O2 in Greenwich on Saturday night, a bill which sees his countryman Ricky Burns take on Lee Selby in a match-up which could prove pivotal for both fighters. For Taylor, there was the novelty factor of sitting down with Prograis head-to-head for the filming of The Gloves Are Off on Sky Sports, where both men eyeball each other for 30 minutes. Taylor used the show to remind Prograis about his apparent fear of travelling outwith the USA to fight for the first time, and how he had him in a headlock when they met in a casino prior to the agreeing of this fight.
“Sitting talking to a guy I am about to fight isn’t really my style. I would rather just go out and fight him,” said Taylor. “But it was a new experience and I enjoyed it. I was just sitting telling him about his weaknesses and stuff. We weren’t trying to get under each other’s skin, I certainly wasn’t trying to get under his skin anyway! I was just kind of listening to what he was saying although I don’t really have too much interest in him. I want it to be Saturday already. You get more excited because the fights keep getting bigger and bigger.”
Carl Froch, meanwhile, the man who retired as unified IBF and
WBA super middleweight champion after wins against first Mikel Kessler then George Groves, insisted last night that Taylor would be entitled to call himself Britain’s top fighter if he can prevail on Saturday night.
“If he’s the only British fighter with two world titles, then he’s going to be recognised as one of the best world champions that we’ve got,” Froch told Sky Sports. “And the only one with two titles. I trained with him for the last couple of years of his amateur career – a nice, likeable kid. He’s down to earth, there’s no airs or graces about him. I see a lot of similarities with him and myself.”
RORY McILROY admits he is “paranoid” about the possibility of failing a drugs test in the wake of Matt Every receiving a three-month ban.
Every was suspended from the PGA Tour for violating its drug policy, even though the 35-year-old said that the ban was for cannabis, for which he claims to have a prescription on medical grounds.
While cannabis is prohibited, the World Anti-Doping Agency dropped the cannabis compound CBD from its list of banned substances last year, although the PGA Tour is warning players to use CBD “at their own risk” as some products may contain THC, which is still prohibited.
Two-time Masters champion
Bubba Watson signed a partnership with a CBD company earlier this year – it is said to reduce anxiety, inflammation, sleeplessness and chronic pain – but McIlroy appears unlikely to follow suit any time soon.
“I’m very aware of the banned substance list,” he told a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan.
“I’m very careful with what I put into my body and I couldn’t tell you if CBD oil is good for golfers because I’ve never tried it.
“It’s tough because I take a very strong stance on performanceenhancing drugs or banned substances. I wouldn’t be comfortable taking CBD oil. I would be too paranoid that there would be THC in it and then that obviously could lead to a positive test.
“I am the most conservative [person] on everything. I try not to take anything in terms of pills to help in any way. I’m even scared to take painkillers sometimes, like an Advil, I would rather just not.”
Elsewhere, The scene of the first 59 in European Tour history has become the last-chance saloon for players battling to keep their playing rights for next season.
Oliver Fisher broke the magical 60 barrier with 10 birdies and an eagle in his second round of the Portugal Masters last year, the Englishman going on to finish seventh behind fellow Englishman Tom Lewis, who lifted the title for the second time following a seven-year gap.
And while Lewis begins the week safely inside the top 50 on the Race to Dubai, Fisher is ranked 112th with only the top 117 on Sunday earning full playing privileges for the 2019-2020 campaign.
“The previous years have been similar to this year, I need a decentenough week to secure my playing rights for next year,” said Fisher, whose sole top-10 finish this season came in Malaysia in March.
“There’s a bit of added pressure on it which means a lot.
“There are mixed feelings in terms of what to expect and my own goals this week. It’s nice to come back to a place where people are talking about something I’ve done. It’s nice to walk around and think I’ve hit some good shots around here and had some good rounds.
“My own expectations are to go out and do my best and enjoy that. My dad is out, a couple of friends too. My wife can’t be here unfortunately, she’s just had a baby and they’re at home. I’m looking forward to a nice week to end the season and put my feet up a little bit.”
England’s Lee Slattery is 115th on the money list but the two-time European Tour winner is hoping his experience of the situation will pay dividends.
“I’ve been in this position before a couple of times so I’ve kind of experienced it. I’ve come into this week quite relaxed really,” the 41-year-old from Southport said.
“I always think that good golf is the winner in the end, no matter where your ranking is at the end of the year. You have just got to play good golf and that’s it.”
Liam Johnston and Marc Warren are the Scots still fighting for a spot on tour this week, with rookie Johnston placed 146th and Warren sitting 218th.