Section:GDN 1N PaGe:49 Edition Date:190815 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 14/8/2019 22:01 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Thursday 15 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •
Sport^4949
Football European Super CupAnalysis
Andy Hunter Vodafone ParkExperience pays but
Pulisic proves worthy
of replacing Hazard
in Chelsea’s thinking
T
he fi rst all-English
Uefa Super Cup
fi nal served a dual
purpose for Frank
Lampard. Victory,
he had considered
beforehand, would not only etch
another trophy into Chelsea’s
history but instil in his young team
the confi dence that they compete
at Liverpool’s level this season. He
was still waiting to lay his hands
on the trophy after 90 minutes
in Istanbul but will have taken
ample compensation from the
impressive display from his new
team. This was the response to
Old Traff ord that Chelsea and their
manager needed.
Much has been made of the
transfer restrictions on Lampard
this summer and the enforced
absences that played a part inSunday’s 4-0 defeat by Manchester
United. Yet he was still able to recall
quality of the calibre of N’Golo
Kanté and £58m Christian Pulisic
against Liverpool. The changes
made by a manager who lost two
Super Cup fi nals as a Chelsea player
in 2012 and 2013 brought potency
and greater solidity to his second
competitive match at the helm.
The Europa League winners took
Jürgen Klopp’s team to extra time
on an encouraging night that, but
for missed chances and two goals
disallowed for offi side, could have
yielded victory inside 90 minutes.
Lampard would dismiss any
hint of infl uence but his team
selection followed the approach
José Mourinho advocated at Old
Traff ord on Sunday. It was designed
for winning the game and not for
the future. Having taken issuewith his former manager’s doubts
over Mason Mount and Tammy
Abraham after the 4-0 defeat the
Chelsea manager dropped both to
the bench as he opted for the more
experienced attack of Pedro, Olivier
Giroud and new arrival Christian
Pulisic. There was also a place for
Kanté at the heart of a midfi eld
that off ered little protection to its
defence against United despite the
France international suff ering an
ankle injury during his substitute
appearance on Sunday.
Chelsea’s vulnerable back-line
remained unchanged, however,
and was entrusted to play its way
beyond Liverpool’s press while being
stretched by Klopp’s deployment of
Mohamed Salah and Alex Oxlade-
Chamberlain out wide. After an
uncertain start, when Jordan
Henderson twice prospered in space
inside Chelsea’s right channel,
crossing for the Sadio Mané header
that struck Andreas Christensen’s
arm, the defensive unit repaid their
manager’s faith.
Lampard’s biggest concern until
the 36th minute was that, once
again, an increasingly confi dent
display on the front foot lacked
an end product. Giroud’s smartly
taken fi nish from Pulisic’s perfectly
weighted through-ball was just
reward for Chelsea’s more polished
and threatening display before
the break.
Like a manager who basks in the
impact of a substitute Lampard
could take immense satisfactionfrom the contribution of the three
players he brought into the team
from Sunday’s starting line-up.
Kanté, Pulisic and Giroud combined
for the breakthrough but their
overall infl uence on the Chelsea
performance was equally signifi cant.
Giroud brought a strength and
quality to Chelsea’s hold-up play
that Abraham was unable to achieve
at Old Traff ord. Liverpool’s defence
was unusually hesitant as a result.
Kanté was the dominant force of
the fi rst half, displaying not only his
accepted defensive quality to nip
the ball off the toes of James Milner
and others but also attacking with a
verve and intelligence that regularly
unsettled the European champions.
Pulisic started quietly on the
left, feeling his way into his full
competitive debut for the club he
joined for £58m in January , but his
creativity blossomed as the match
progressed. The former Borussia
Dortmund player delivered a hugely
encouraging debut that may , if
his form is sustained, reduce the
amount of questions that Lampard
has to face about the absence of
Eden Hazard this season.
Pulisic’s joy at providing the
gloss of a second Chelsea goal was
cut short by a correct off side call
from the history-making referee
Stéphanie Frappart fi ve minutes
before the interval. His desire
and ability to attack the Liverpool
defence, however, and precision
fi nish into the bottom corner after
cutting inside two opponents,off ered a tantalising glimpse of
what the 20-year-old can off er this
Chelsea team.
Half-time came at a bad time
for the team in blue. It gave
Liverpool a welcome chance to
regroup and to introduce Roberto
Firmino, who created Sadio Mané’s
equaliser within three minutes of
his introduction and fl ourished
in the pockets of space behind
Chelsea’s midfi eld. With Mané
now up against César Azpilicueta
Lampard’s side were once again
suspect against the counter-
attack, as at Old Traff ord, but
the confi dence in their intricate
passing through midfi eld did not
waver.
Another contrast to Sunday’s
defeat was the form of Kepa
Arrizabalaga in goal. The world’s
most expensive keeper reacted
smartly to grab a defl ected
Henderson shot that was headed
goalwards and produced an
outstanding save to turn a Virgil
van Dijk shot on to the bar at close
range.
Mount replaced Pulisic as the
USA international understandably
tired and almost delivered the
perfect script for Lampard when
he beat Adrián with an excellent
low fi nish from Jorginho’s inviting
pass. Chelsea were denied for
a second time by an off side fl ag
while Kurt Zouma missed an
excellent chance to clinch victory
at the death from the young
midfi elder’s corner. Christian
Pulisic carries
the ball
forward in
the buildup
to Chelsea’s
opening goal
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