Lampard thrilled with Mount: I wasn´t blowing the world away in my first year or so

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has expressed his delight at Mason Mount’s performance against Fulham and Callum Hudson-Odoi’s recent form.

Mount scored the winning goal in the Blues’ narrow 1-0 victory at Fulham, who played more than half the match a man light following Antonee Robinson’s sending off just before the break.

That goal was just the tip of the iceberg for Mount, who laid on a remarkable seven key passes – only three times in the Premier League this season has a player produced more in a single game.

Lampard was overjoyed with the England international’s display and highlighted the midfielder’s already considerable experience despite only just turning 22, before suggesting Mount is even playing at a higher level than he was at a similar stage of his career.

“I thought Mason’s performance all round was fantastic,” Lampard told reporters. “He has been very, very good for us in the past year, this year. He is a big example of why I talk about youth.

“Mason turned 22 years old last week, the age I came to Chelsea at. I wasn’t blowing the world away in my first year or so, Mason already has so many games under his belt.

“Across out frontline, we’ve got; Christian Pulisic – similar age bracket, Kai Havertz – similar age bracket, Callum Hudson-Odoi – younger age bracket, Tammy [Abraham], Timo [Werner] – they’re all young.

11 – Mason Mount’s opener was the 11th goal Chelsea have scored in the final 15 minutes of Premier League matches this season; no side has netted more in this time period in the competition in 2020-21 (level with Leicester City). Breakthrough. pic.twitter.com/WhAgFGwH6B

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 16, 2021

“But to go back to Mason, his effort, attitude and quality of play today was outstanding.”

Hudson-Odoi was bright after coming off the bench in the final 15 minutes, though he was seemingly unfortunate not to start.

The winger endured a difficult 2020 due to fitness problems and a lack of form, but he is starting to show why he had been so highly rated in his teenage years.

In the past month, only Mount and Pulisic have created more Premier League chances than his six among Chelsea players, despite Hudson-Odoi playing just 176 minutes.

That means he is averaging 3.1 key passes per 90 minutes in that time – Mount (4.2) is the only other player with a tally of more than two, and Lampard has been impressed by the 20-year-old’s attitude.

“There has been a real uplift in his form,” Lampard added. “That’s a sign of his development, he is coming on, going by people and showing confidence. And a lot of that will be down to the injury he had to get over last season.

“Hakim [Ziyech] obviously gives us something different and was outstanding when fit. Christian [Pulisic] is always a threat. When I have the three, there is one who maybe can’t start the game, but they must then come on and impact the game. Generally, a winger is where you make your changes.

“Yes, I had Leicester in mind [when selecting the team] and we will see how players react in the next day or two. In this busy, busy period players will have to accept to be an impact player sometimes and then come in and start.

“For Callum, I am delighted with how he is playing at the minute and he is approaching it in the right way. He will get many, many minutes for us.”