Abraham and Hudson-Odoi give Chelsea timely hint of their worth
Frank Lampard has spent time having to google the various strikers and forwards Chelsea have been linked with. So, it will be a relief that two of his own players offered a reminder that he may be able solve the team’s goalscoring problem from within.
With every passing day, Chelsea have been linked with a different striker, some of whom Lampard has known all about and others the head coach, like most of the rest of us, has never heard of.
The speculation will, of course, continue throughout the January transfer window and it would be naive to assume that a victory over Burnley, Chelsea’s first Premier League success at Stamford Bridge since the start of December, will convince the club to abandon their transfer strategy.
But a 15th goal of the season from Tammy Abraham and a first league goal for Callum Hudson-Odoi offered some proof that Chelsea need not panic and that Lampard’s best January solutions might, in fact, be under his nose.
He will not find anybody better or more potent than Abraham this month and Hudson-Odoi appears to be working steadily towards his best form, which will help make up for the loss of Christian Pulisic to injury.
It was not just Abraham and
Hudson-Odoi, starting in the league for the first time since October, who provided a cutting edge. As he had done against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, Lampard paired Hudson-Odoi with exciting full-back Reece James down the right and the decision gave Chelsea a new attacking dimension.
It was 20-year-old James who provided the cross from which Abraham headed Chelsea’s second goal, following what Burnley manager Sean Dyche felt was a push on James Tarkowski.
Abraham’s 38th-minute goal was not only timed perfectly for his team, but also for himself following confirmation that Harry Kane will be out until April.
Kane’s absence has forced Gareth Southgate, the England manager, to spend the rest of the season deciding who might be his captain’s deputy should he suffer any sort of setback ahead of the European Championship.
Abraham wants to be at the front of the queue and his goal provided a reminder of his potency, even if he did miss a good second-half chance.
“I hope he is upset tonight because he should have had two or three,” Lampard said. “I know Tammy’s like that. He got his goal and he keeps getting in there. The next stage is, can you be that clinical? But I’m delighted with him.”
Jorginho had put Chelsea ahead from the penalty spot, following a clumsy foul on Willian by Matt Low- ton, before Abraham scored. The two goals meant Chelsea went in at halftime with a Premier League lead at Stamford Bridge for the first time since Aug 31.
Any hope of a Burnley fightback was killed just four minutes after the inter- val, when Hudson-Odoi marked a good performance with a goal. Cesar Azpili- cueta’s cross was missed by Abraham and the winger was perfectly placed to turn the ball into the net. The video assistant referee checked that Abraham had not touched the ball and, therefore, played Hudson-Odoi offside, but it ruled in favour of the 19-year-old.
“His overall performance was a statement of what the real Callum needs to do, and what he can be because there is more,” Lampard said. “The goal was brilliant for him. If he can carry on doing that, we know the serious player we have got in Callum.”
Burnley’s closest effort had come shortly before Chelsea’s second goal, when Ben Mee’s header was cleared off the line by Ross Barkley and then Azpilicueta denied Chris Wood.
Dyche should be worried about a run that has now extended to 10 defeats in 14 League games. He said: “We have hit a tough spell and that is the Premier League, it creeps up on you. We need to eradicate the small things and then try to get the confidence. It is about how quickly we can get on track.”