Tammy Abraham’s decisive goal against Crystal Palace will be a huge boost to his confidence, says Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
Chelsea won a Selhurst Park thriller 3-2 on Tuesday, with the 22-year-old scoring what proved to be a pivotal third goal for the visitors, his first strike since the Premier League’s resumption.
Ahead of the match, Lampard had urged Abraham to focus on his faltering form as opposed to a new contract, amid speculation over where he fits in the club’s long-term plans ahead of Timo Werner’s arrival.
The striker had not scored since 11 January and lost his starting place upon the post-coronavirus restart, but Lampard was buoyed by his cool 71st-minute finish shortly after coming on for Olivier Giroud.
‘It will be really important for Tammy because he is desperate for goals,’ Lampard told the media.
‘He hadn’t scored for a while. It helps his confidence and it is good for me. It gives me other options.
‘He came on late in the game, he scores the winning goal and I’m pleased for my strikers.’
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who tipped Scott Dann’s last-gasp header on to the post, was praised by Lampard, along with defender Kurt Zouma after his last-ditch tackle in a dramatic finish to proceedings.
Palace made it an uncomfortable outing for Chelsea with Wilfried Zaha scoring a wonder strike, leaving Lampard to concede his team should have managed the game better.
‘We should have had the game done at 2-0,’ he said. ‘We should have controlled the game better and then at 3-2 we had good chances to finish off.
‘With some slight wrong decisions maybe in the final third or final shot, and then it invites pressure.
‘Kepa makes a great save, Kurt makes a great tackle. But in those last moments it was nervous for us.’
The win increased Chelsea’s chances of earning a top-four finish in the Premier League. With Leicester City drawing at Arsenal, the Blues move up to third on the table.
Chelsea are set to face Sheffield United on Saturday before then hosting Norwich City at Stamford Bridge three days later.
