FRANK’S FLEDGLINGS!
Abraham off the mark as Chelsea are driven on by...
AS soon as Tammy Abraham’s landmark opener hit the net he spun on his heels and made a beeline for Frank Lampard.
And their celebratory embrace was not the only thing they ended up sharing following Chelsea’s eventful trip to Carrow Road.
No matter what both go on to achieve in their respective careers, this day ended up being one they will always remember for the rest of their lives.
For Abraham, 21, he achieved something he had been dreaming of since joining Chelsea 15 years ago, scoring for the club’s first team for the first time. That he ended the afternoon with two goals and his second was the winner, to justify Lampard’s decision to recall him, topped the lot.
And for Lampard, at the fourth attempt it was his long- awaited first win as Chelsea manager. Finally some tangible reward for Chelsea’ s clear attacking improvement under their all-time record goalscorer.
Thee motion that followed Abraham’s third- minute opener was obvious. And as well as heading to Lampard after his manager tipped him to score, it was also perhaps a public show of thanks from the striker, not just for selecting him, but also the emphatic and heartfelt backing Abraham received from his manager after receiving vile racist abuse on social media following his European Super Cup penalty miss against Liverpool.
Lampard said: ‘ I spoke to him before the game and said that I felt today was the day for him. It was a bit of kidology really but I do trust in him and I know that, as a young striker, you do need that support and I genuinely mean that.
‘ I did feel something for him today and it will do wonders for his confidence and I’m pleased he came over. He has had a tough little period for reasons we all know and strikers get judged purely on goals at times and sometimes that’s slightly unfair but, when you talk about character and enthusiasm to play for this club, Tammy is right up there.
‘In terms of playing, hopefully he will see my belief in him from the fact he is playing and hopefully from the fact I want to do extra shooting with him daily, every type of finishing and the first one today was top drawer. That comes from work on the training ground.’
For a long time the word has been that Chelsea’s kids are all right. Now under Lampard they are getting the chance to prove it. Along with Abraham, midfielder Mount was o ne o f Chelsea’s stand-out performers in what was the youngest team they had started a game with in 25 years.
Mount made light of being shifted to the left-wing at the last-minute after Pedro’s late withdrawal due to a hamstring injury suffered in the warm-up and scored for the second game running to further enhance his reputation and chances of an England call-up this week.
Lampard said: ‘I spoke to Mason on Friday and asked him if he felt like he was a Chelsea player yet because it is important. He smiled and we had a laugh but I didn’t really get a clear answer. But he should feel like it if he plays like he is at the moment.’
This was a performance with pl enty of good t o encourage Lampard going forward but also issues to concern him defensively.
The return to full fitness of N’Golo Kante after an injury- disrupted start to the season — he missed out here due to an ankle injury — will go some way to helping solve that. Without him Chelsea were vulnerable and their defence was easy to get at. Thankfully for them so were Norwich.
Chelsea carved them open with what will be one of the team goals of the season after just three minutes. Abraham found the net with a half-volley to bring a fitting end to a move that began with Kepa and involved Emerson, Kurt Zouma, Mount, Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea’s lead lasted just three minutes as Norwich’s man-of-themoment Teemu Pukki teed up Todd Cant well to open his Premier League account for Norwich.
The visitors restored their lead through Mount, who controlled a pass from Pulisic, cut inside and fired past Tim Krul. But Norwich had the final word in the first half when Pukki scored his fifth goal of the season, shooting past Kepa from a narrow angle, when Norwich found it far too easy to get in behind Chelsea again.
Calm was restored after the break and chances were few and far between. And from a rare flurry of activity the winner came. Kepa denied Pukki at t he end of a Norwich breakaway and launched a Chelsea counter that ended with Abraham wrong-footing Krul.
It was the 55th league goal of his career, following loan spells at Bristol City, Swansea and Aston Villa, but his first from outside the box and his first winner for Chelsea. Two more reasons Abraham will never forget his trip to Carrow Road. NORWICH (4-5-1): Krul 7; Aarons 6, Godfrey 7, Hanley 6.5, Lewis 6; Trybull 7 (Vrancic 81), Leitner 7 (McClean 81); Buendia 7.5, Stiepermann 6 (Srbeny 81), Cantwell 7.5; Pukki 8. Booked: Stiepermann. Subs ( not used): Fahrmann, Byram, Klose, Tettey. CHELSEA (4-3-3): Kepa 6; Azpilicueta 6.5, Christensen 6, Zouma 6, Emerson 7; Kovacic 6.5, Jorginho 7, Barkley 6; Pulisic 7 (Willian 84), Abraham 8.5 (Giroud 75, 6), Mount 8 (Alonso 91). Booked: Jorginho. Subs (not used): Caballero, Tomori, Alonso, Batshuayi. Referee: M Atkinson (West Yorkshire) 7.