Chelsea v Manchester United: Lampard showing Solskjaer how to succeed with a blend of youth and experience
When a strike from Daniel James deflected into the back of Chelsea’s net to put Manchester United 4-0 up at Old Trafford in August, the road to rejuvenating his new side looked like being a long one for Frank Lampard.
But just two and a half months on from that defeat on the opening weekend of the Premier League season the landscape has shifted dramatically as the Blues prepare to seek revenge on United in the Carabao Cup tomorrow.
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Their previous meeting could hardly have been a worse indication of how the teams’ seasons would unfold, with Chelsea coming into the rematch at Stamford Bridge on the back of seven successive wins.
Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have found goals and wins hard to come by. Saturday’s victory at Norwich was only their fourth in the 13 subsequent games and the first game in which they scored more than once.
Marked improvement
Relative managerial newcomer Lampard has been widely praised, particularly following last week’s Champions League triumph away to Ajax, and with some justification.
The marked improvement in his team’s results and performances since that defeat to United paint a flattering picture of the impact that the 41-year-old is having.
After the United defeat, Chelsea lost on penalties to Liverpool in the European Super Cup final and drew at home to Leicester and Sheffield United either side of a close-fought 3-2 victory at Norwich.
There were signs Lampard’s team could cause problems going forward but were perhaps lacking defensively.
The Blues would then suffer back-to-back losses against Valencia and Liverpool, but an impressive performance against the Premier League leaders earned Lampard and his side a rare round of applause in the face of defeat.
However, in the month since then Chelsea have beaten all comers, conceding just five in seven games.
Blend of youth
It has not taken Lampard long to instil his own philosophy after a season under Maurizio Sarri that left fans frustrated at the Italian’s struggles to implement the stylish football that earned plaudits at Napoli.
He has seemingly found an optimal blend of youth and experience, with breakthrough stars such as Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori complemented by the experienced heads of Jorginho and captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
In Chelsea’s 1-0 win at Ajax last week, the average age of the starting 11 was just 24.6 years old, while he also introduced 19-year-old Reece James, and 21-year-old Christian Pulisic from the bench.
In total, Lampard used six players under the age of 23, five of whom are English.
It is in fact the kind of strategy Solskjaer has tried to implement in Manchester, but the Norwegian currently seems further from finding the answer than he did when taking over almost a year ago.
Patience was the buzzword of the summer in south-west London, but as Lampard and Chelsea continue to progress, there is every reason to start believing this team is capable of achieving more than was expected at the start of this season.
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