Lampard: I already know what Abramovich wants
Chelsea manager meets the owner in Salzburg £58m signing Pulisic inspires friendly victory
The Russian has not been at a game in England since running into visa issues
Frank Lampard met with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich for the first time since taking over as head coach last night in Salzburg.
Abramovich was inside the Red Bull Arena to watch new signing Christian Pulisic inspire a 5-3 preseason friendly win over Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg.
Lampard revealed that he had not met with Abramovich during negotiations to succeed Maurizio Sarri and the Russian billionaire had not been at any of Chelsea’s pre-season games before the Salzburg clash.
Abramovich has not attended a Chelsea game in England since running into problems renewing his British visa, although he was at the Europa League final in Baku.
“I’ve spoken with him, so it was good to see him,” said Lampard. “I obviously know him, as well as you know your owner, from my playing days. I knew that I was going to speak to the owner in pre-season and I’ve spoken to him this evening. It was good to see him here and he was happy with the excitement of the game.
“I have a good relationship with the owner already, I know the desires of the club, I know there are non-negotiables, standards, whatever you want to call them.
“I know how he feels about this club. It’s nice to see him, but it wasn’t a huge deal for me. I’m happy, I know the ins and outs, but great to see him and if we see him in the future, then great.”
Abramovich will have been delighted to see the impact of £58 million signing Pulisic, who scored his first pre-season goals for Chelsea since joining up with the squad.
Pulisic netted twice and won the penalty from which Ross Barkley scored. Barkley set up Pedro to score a spectacular volleyed backheel with substitute Michy Batshuayi also getting a goal.
“It was a good night for him [Pulisic],” said Lampard. “He showed his quality. I loved the nature of his goals where he had an intention to run behind the line and not come short.
“It is what he is going to have to do because he will be playing in the Premier League, the Champions League, this is the top end.
“The winger has to not just have the desire to be tidy, but to get behind and then, with his quality, he can be a really big player for us.
“He is a big signing for us and has a big potential for us. The question for him is that he has to adapt to a different league. But what I have seen is that he has a real good attitude, a willingness to listen to information from myself and the staff, and had some really good moments tonight and shown that.”
N’golo Kante is yet to play for Chelsea in pre-season as he recovers from a knee problem and he did not travel to Salzburg. Midfielders Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater also missed the trip.
“We’ve got a squad of a lot of players and, at this point, the balance of training and playing is important and I can’t bring everyone and give everyone 90 minutes,” said Lampard.
“So they [Bakayoko and Drinkwater] are players who have stayed back to train, rather than travel and not play. So I wouldn’t read too much into it on one game.”