We breed them great, Happy Birthday Mario Melchiot. Have a defender’s birthday .
Chelsea’s new signings made them look like genuine title contenders
Chelsea’s new signings made them look like genuine title contenders as Frank Lampard’s six new stars all shone from the start in their 3-0 victory at Burnley.
Perhaps Boris Johnson pushed back his Saturday press conference from its original 4pm start because he’d paid the £14.95 to watch Chelsea. A wise decision from the PM if so.
For anyone who tuned in saw a performance of genuine Premier League title contenders on a cold October afternoon in Burnley, with the pieces falling into place for Frank Lampard.
All six of Lampard’s summer signings — Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy — started and excelled at Turf Moor.
Frank Lampard’s new signings – including Hakim Ziyech – impressed as they won 3-0 at Burnley
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The midfield balance was there, with N’Golo Kante flanked by Havertz and Mason Mount. It was reminiscent of Fernandinho as the holder behind David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne for Manchester City.
There was real fluidity to Lampard’s 4-3-3 set-up. The touch maps of his players show they weren’t restricted to a single area of the pitch, but rather encouraged to roam.
‘They’re giving me nice feelings and ideas as we move forward,’ said Lampard, whose only complaint was that he lost Christian Pulisic to a hamstring injury in the warm-up.
Edouard Mendy could face his former club Rennes on Wednesday
The Senegalese international joined Chelsea from Rennes at the end of September and will be hopeful of starting against his former club when we meet at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, having played a big part in the French club qualifying for the competition for the first time in their history last season.
Mendy has enjoyed an excellent start to life in west London, conceding just once in his six appearances for the Blues so far. But how closely have you been paying attention to our new goalkeeper during those matches and how much do you know about his career before Chelsea? You can find out in our quiz on the 28-year-old below. Good luck!
Petr Cech was struck by talent of Edouard Mendy
‘I’ve watched 30 goalkeepers in the last 18 months and he was the one who came to mind’: Petr Cech was struck by talent of Edouard Mendy and reveals role in spotting Chelsea No 1, who followed his path from Rennes to Stamford Bridge
Petr Cech has revealed that he was hugely impressed by the talent of Edouard Mendy when Chelsea were considering a move for the goalkeeper.
After enduring much frustration in the goalkeeping department as Kepa Arrizabalaga frequently made mistakes, Mendy has been a considerably calmer presence between the sticks since making the switch from Rennes in September.
Cech, Chelsea’s technical advisor, joined the Blues from Rennes himself in 2004, and disclosed that he played a part in the signing of Mendy.
‘We have Kepa and Willy Caballero, who every time we needed him was ready to step in and we decided with Kepa going through a difficult moment where things were not happening for him on the pitch, we decided to add to our goalkeeping group and we agreed to bring in Edouard. So far, he’s been doing great.
‘In my first eight games [at Chelsea], we had seven clean sheets. If he [Mendy] gets that and makes it better, I will be happy, because the team will do well and we will be winning, and this is ultimately what we want.’
Mendy has received much praise for his performances for Chelsea so far and will certainly benefit from the advice of a club legend in Cech.
Cech has been registered as a non-contact player in the Premier League, but it is anticipated that Mendy will play the majority of games for Frank Lampard’s side.
There was a special occasion for Mendy on Wednesday night as he was in action against his former side Rennes in the Champions League.
Speaking before the game, Lampard revealed that Mendy gave him ‘a lot of detail’ about the French side.
