Published 12:49 IST, October 24th 2019
Champions League: Lampard feels his Chelsea 'babies' have come off age
Chelsea Manager Frank Lampard believes that his players came of age against Ajax. Chelsea defeated Ajax with a strike from Batshuayi, assisted by Pulisic.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard feels that his "babies" in the club have come of age in the UEFA Champions League after their stunning win at Ajax on Wednesday in Amsterdam. Michy Batshuayi climbed off the bench to fire the Blues to a memorable victory.
Christian Pulisic gave manager Frank Lampard a timely reminder of his talent by setting up fellow substitute Michy Batshuayi to score the winner in Chelsea's 1-0 triumph over last year's semifinalists Ajax at the Johan Cruijff Arena. Pulisic was left out of the squad entirely when they beat Lille in the Champions League earlier this month, but the 21-year-old's career sprang to life against Ajax Amsterdam.
The forward joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of around €64 million in the off-season to become the most expensive American player in history but has struggled for minutes, making only three Premier League starts.
According to Lampard, the result, which left Chelsea with six points after three games in Group H, had set the benchmark for his young side. He believes that the younger players are still babies in the Champions League so this was a huge test for them but the balance of the team between young players and experienced players has been good.
Lampard trusts young players
Lampard has relied largely on his young talents in the attack. Tamy Abraham leads the attack and he has not disappointed the Chelsea legend. He has scored nine goals so far. Mason Mount has four goals to his credit, while Batshuayi has scored four of them and assisted twice.
Updated 23:49 IST, October 24th 2019