Sheffield United fought back from two goals down to gain a well-earned point at Stamford Bridge in what turned out to be a tightly contested game.
It was Lampard’s side that struck first. Tammy Abraham’s original headed effort looked to be saved, but somehow Henderson spilt the ball and allowed the academy youth-product to fire home to score his third goal in two games.
Minutes before the first-half whistle, Abraham doubled his tally. United had responded well since going behind, but they were punished for a silly error. Jack O’Connell and John Egan both went for the same header, got in each others’ way and collided. This calamity let Abraham in on goal and the young Englishman made no mistake to double the home side’s lead.
Chris Wilder’s half-time team talk looked to have been successful as the Blades came out flying in the second half. Enda Stevens turned Cesar Azpilicueta inside out, before nutmegging him and whipping in a low cross for Callum Robinson to side foot in for his first goal of the season.
Midway through the second half, Abraham must have thought he’d scored a hat-trick because Henderson, who had kept United in the game, managed to get down in a flash to tip Abraham’s point-blank shot beyond the post.
As they say, it is a game of two halves and that has been the story of Chelsea’s season so far. In the 88th minute, substitute and debutant Lys Mousset flicked on a low cross from the left, which via a Kurt Zouma deflection completed yet another miracle comeback for Chris Wilder’s side.
Fast first halves and second half sieges
The game today shows how strangely similar these two teams are; four games in, one win, two draws and a loss each place them both on five points. In more depth, it seems they are having similar problems with the structure of the match. Chelsea seem to be fast out of the blocks, scoring first today and inside the first ten minutes against both Norwich (three minutes) and Leicester (seven minutes).
The Blades, however, seem to have the slower approach, such as their last gasp equaliser against the Cherries and today’s heroics in the 88th minute – in fact, all of their goals have come in the second half of their games.
Wilder’s side are developing a reputation for late goals; last season, important last-minute wins against Milwall and Reading helped them gain promotion, and his side are keeping that up in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard’s second-half slump
Today was another example of how Chelsea are struggling in the second half of their games. Their first game of the season against Man United highlighted how impressive Chelsea can be in the first few minutes – where they should have been ahead at Old Trafford.
But the second half only led to a sorry four-nil defeat. Since then, they should have lost to Leicester, who equalised in the 67th minute, and they very almost squandered their lead against Norwich last week alongside letting slip a two-goal lead against Wilder’s side at Stamford Bridge.
The second half downfalls could be due to the lack of experience within the squad now that Frank has embedded youth into his side. But the Chelsea team does have a lot of experience in there, such as Premier Leagues winners Azpilicueta and Kante.
This is clearly a huge issue that Lampard and his team need to sort in order to start winning games and progressing up the table.
Young English talent
Following their transfer ban, Chelsea are at the forefront of having to develop young English talent: Mount, Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori make up just some of the youngsters who are in the squad this year.
Both Abraham and Mount have had fantastic starts to the season, scoring six goals in the first four games between them. Interestingly so, Chelsea’s last five Premier League goals have been scored by English players (Abraham x3, Mount x2), and this is the first time this has happened for the Blues since back in October 2011.
Rashford and Abraham have had contrasting performances this weekend. Rashford has historically been forced to play in the wide positions for United, whilst Abraham is starting and playing upfront in his preferred position. This owes to the idea that managers are making young strikers do their apprenticeships out on the wing – learning and gathering experience in a less significant position.
At the moment, it seems Rashford has gone backwards – like Walcott and Welbeck by playing out wide. Watching Tammy Abraham today suggests that these young strikers are better developed by waiting to play in their actual positions, rather than being forced into unnatural positions out wide.
Not only is Lampard providing opportunities for his youngsters, but he is also placing his trust in them. Mount has started every single game so far, and Abraham was preferred to Giroud who is an experienced striker in the Premier League. He also dropped Christensen for Fikayo Tomori this afternoon, who played notably well alongside Zouma in the heart of the defence.
Callum Robinson leading the line
The 24-year-old, signed for £7 million from Preston North End this summer, scored a goal and registered an assist against Chelsea to mark a very impressive performance. Today’s game was his fourth start for the Blades, meaning he has started all of the games so far this season. Robinson and David McGoldrick are beginning to form a good relationship at the front of the Sheffield attack, as well as Oliver McBurnie who looked sharp today. Today proved that, despite being criticised for their lack of attacking ambition, they have the ability to break down defences and score goals – even against the current Europa League Champions.
Up next
Frank Lampard’s side take on Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolves in what will prove to be a tricky game, whilst Chris Wilder’s men host Southampton as they look to build on today’s draw.
