Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Mason Mount all scored for Chelsea at Molineux
Sunday 15 September 2019 12:22, UK
Frank Lampard heaped praise on Tammy Abraham after his hat-trick in a 5-2 win for Chelsea at Wolves in the Premier League.
Lampard has integrated youth players into his squad as he was faced with a transfer ban when taking over as manager, and they have repaid his faith in the opening five games of the season.
On Saturday, Abraham scored a wonderful hat-trick at Molineux - having scored twice in each of his previous two league games - with Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori adding to the tally.
And Lampard was thrilled with their efforts, telling Sky Sports: "I'm delighted to see [youngsters taking their chances] because it's not easy.
"Tammy is [looking the part] and that's work, having gone out on loan and scoring a lot of goals in the Championship, having a year in the Premier League and now I think he feels the responsibility of the Chelsea shirt as he should. The last three games speak for themselves.
"The only challenge for Tammy now is can he keep doing it? Can he get better and better because the way he's playing, he's a huge threat for us up front and there is competition within from [Olivier] Giroud and [Michy] Batshuayi so he needs to keep it at that level and get even better.
"Tomori had a great season in the Championship last year but this is a step up and he has absolutely taken to it and got an incredible goal today, which will be a huge memory for him going forward. It's time, the youngsters deserved their chances and they need to keep improving."
The praise kept coming for Abraham on Soccer Saturday, with Phil Thompson enjoying his development at Chelsea.
"He was very, very good. His job is to score goals, but he also got involved in the rest of the game," he said.
"He got three goals, an own goal and cramp, so it was quite an afternoon for him! He was absolutely fantastic and led the line brilliantly. And he is just getting better and better."
Speaking on Sunday Supplement, ESPN's Natalie Gedra said: "How many complaints have we heard from Chelsea fans about giving younger players a chance? Now you see the likes of Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount and they are ready for it.
"Chelsea are already pulling of very exciting things this season. It's entertaining to watch Chelsea. You see them making mistakes but correcting those mistakes.
"It's a learning process for Chelsea and the young players, but you see Abraham, he is a great finisher. He's good in the air, he's good with the ball at his feet and he's got a lot of pace. Mason Mount came back from the national team more confident and that reflects well on the club too. Chelsea are exciting this season."
Wolves begin their Europa League campaign on Thursday and will go into it on the back of the heavy Chelsea defeat, with no wins yet in the Premier League this season.
Understandably, manager Nuno Espirito Santo was not happy with his side's display, telling Sky Sports: "It was a bad performance. We started the game well, pressing and creating good moments. The game changed with a goal, everything becomes harder and the team lost a little bit of concentration.
"Today we were beaten, Chelsea were better than us and we have to recognise that, congratulate Chelsea and move forward. Bad games can happen, but what is important is that we cannot repeat them. We have to react and become better."
