A DIAMOND could be forever under Frank Lampard at Chelsea. The club’s new manager, who has replaced Maurizio Sarri who angered fans with a rigid 4-3-3 system, tried out the tactical change in the team’s 2nd friendly in Dublin. Lampard tinkered with the formation in the 2nd half but it proves that he is looking to get the best out of this current group of players as he has a transfer ban. Chelsea fielded a much stronger team than the one which drew 1 – 1 vs Bohemians on Wednesday with Jorginho at the base of the diamond, Ross Barkley featuring at the tip with Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic either side.
COMPREHENSIVE WIN
Mount spent last season under Lampard on loan at Derby along with defender Fikayo Tomori, who also started. The Blues played with a front 2 of Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi, and were unsurprisingly comfortable against their hosts who had played a home Europa League tie just 3days earlier. Chelsea took the lead through Mount with a clever flick in the 15th minute and Emerson made it 2 – 0 thanks to a howler from home GK Barry Murphy around 15mins later.
Like the previous evening, Lampard fielded a completely different team for the 2nd half with Olivier Giroud and Kasey Palmer up front. Lampard also switched to a more traditional 4-4-2 with a flat midfield 4, which included Scottish teenager Billy Gilmour. Chelsea appear to have a surprisingly large number of fans over here in Ireland, they sang Lampard’s name throughout the 2nd half and were then able to celebrate a 2nd-half brace from Giroud. The Frenchman struck in the 67th and 88th minutes to boost his chances of leading Chelsea’s line
next season.
By Onyemelu
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