Entering into tonight’s UEFA Champions League group stage clash at Ajax, Chelsea FC Manager Frank Lampard extolled the virtues of his depth and talent at the winger position.
All that depth in the final third has meant lack of opportunities for Michy Batshuayi and Christian Pulisic, two young and talented players who were also teammates at Borussia Dortmund. It was just 16 days ago we were writing articles like this, on how Lampard made it clear that playing time could be an issue for the pair.
Now here we are- Chelsea had the biggest win of their European campaign, a 1-0 result in Amsterdam and it’s this duo that largely made it happen.
Pulisic made his first Champions League appearance in a Chelsea shirt tonight and indeed he did carpie diem. He was a game-changer in the last 25 minutes, setting up Batshuayi‘s late match winning goal, and notching his fifth assist of the season in the process.
“We are a team that always works hard together,” said team captain and defender Cesar Azpilicueta.
“We know only 11 can start and three can come on. The substitutions did well today. Michy got the goal, Christian (Pulisic) got the assist, we are a group.”
Indeed the Blues are rolling right now. This past week saw the west London side get themselves back into the top four, and win what was the toughest UCL group stage match (at least on paper) on their schedule.
Since falling to Liverpool a little over a month ago, Chelsea has won six straight, with a goal differential of 17-3. Up next is a league fixture against Burnley on Saturday.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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