NOT ALL CHILD’S PLAY AS OLD BOYS STEP UP Lamps hails Blues’ golden oldies
CHELSEA 2 BRIGHTON 0
THE KIDS are all right – but Frank Lampard’s message after breaking his Stamford Bridge duck was: Don’t forget our Golden Oldies.
Chelsea’s boss admitted relief after finally nailing his first Premier League success down the Fulham Road with his seasoned professionals making the difference.
Academy graduates Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount have hogged the headlines since being given their chance at the start of the campaign.
But it was the old boys from Brazil, Jorginho and Willian who came good when it matt e red as
Brighton proved ideal opponents.
The midfielder kept his nerve to score from the spot and then the enigmatic front-runner added a second goal as Graham Potter’s side opened the door to their own defeat.
Lampard ( above) said: “Everyone is drawn to the conversation with the kids.
“They are playing because they deserve to as I don’t consider age – but they will always need experience around them. But you can also talk about Jorginho. He showed a coolness of head with the penalty.
“And you can talk about Willian, who not only created chances for himself but also scored – and his work ethic was fantastic.
“Those are the standards the experienced players set and the youngsters must follow them.”
Lampard also admitted the pressure had lifted after he tasted a home win in the league at the fourth attempt.
He added: “We want to win points. This is football, this is Chelsea.
“You want to be the best you can be – and the home games have been frustrating.
“The reason we have not won at home before is because we have not put in 90 minutes. We have only been good in parts.
“One half against Leicester, one half against Sheffield United... a good p e r f o rma n c e against Liverpool that wasn’t quite enough.
“Today, it was comfortable, professional.
“It lacked more goals – because we did enough to have scored three, four or five but we kept a clean sheet, so it’s a good day all round.”
Potter’s side – who have now found the net just twice in their last six outings – were perfect fodder.
They tried to open up the game but couldn’t. And didn’t really have the resilience either to keep the Blues at bay.
Thanks largely to keeper Matt Ryan, their goal was intact going into the break.
But five minutes after the restart they fell behind when Adam Webster’s sloppy underhit backpass was intercepted by Mount.
The defender tried to rectify his mistake but succeeded only in bringing down the youngster as he bore down on goal.
“It can happen, that’s football,” said Potter, “I ask them to play that way, so I have to take responsibility.”
Jorginho, complete with a trademark little skip in his run- up, tucked away the penalty.
The Seagulls pushed forward and caused a scare when Dan Burn’s header from a Pascal Gross left- wing corner bounced down and brushed the bar.
It was a short-lived reprieve. Moments later, Willian’s step-over gave him a shooting opportunity on the right and the ball deflected off Burn to defeat Ryan.
Potter reflected: “We were stubborn and put up a fight.
“But if you look at the first half, we rode our luck.
“We were lucky to go in nilnil at half-time.” 10............ Shots on Target ............ 1 4 ............. Shots off Target........... 4 10 ..............Blocked Shots ............ 3 5 .....................Corners................... 2 5 ........................Fouls ....................13 1 ......................Offsides .................. 2 2 .................Yellow Cards .............. 3 0 ...................Red Cards ................0 85.9 .... Passing Success %.. 82.4 43 .................Duels Won ...............41 51.2......... Duel Success %..... 48.8 18 .....................Tackles .................20 55.6 ........ Tackles Won %......60.0 52.6 ......... Possession %........47.4 57.1 ........ Territorial Adv %.... 42.9 567 .............Total Passes .........500 12 ...............Total Crosses ............14 129................ Lost Balls ............. 138 57 ................ Recoveries............. 66 60.8 ........1st Half Poss %. ......39.2 43.9....... 2nd Half Poss %...... 56.1