Chelsea buoyed by fourth consecutive clean sheet, Latest Football News - The New Paper
Football

Chelsea buoyed by fourth consecutive clean sheet

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said his team were finally finding the right balance between attack and defence after shutting out Burnley in last Saturday's 3-0 English Premier League victory.

The Blues have now kept clean sheets in their last four games in all competitions. Lampard said veteran defender Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, both of whom joined the club in the close-season, had added steel to their defence.

"There was certainly balance there and we worked on that," Lampard said.

"That's part of the process when we've brought in new players. When you're keeping clean sheets and scoring goals, you're going in the right direction.

"The clean sheets are a great sign of a spine in the team. Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy have massively helped that but so has the mentality of the group."

Hakim Ziyech's second strike in his second start, as well as goals from Timo Werner and Kurt Zouma helped Chelsea cruise to victory at Turf Moor, but Lampard said he was not getting carried away after ending a run of two straight league draws.

"I'm not going to jump up and down after a win like this, but it was a really positive day," he added.

Forward Christian Pulisic suffered a hamstring issue during the warm-up and could be out for the next few games, starting with their Champions League tie against Mendy's former club Rennes on Thursday morning (Singapore time). - REUTERS

Football