Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour put on an assured performance at Stamford Bridge as the Blues knocked the European champions out of the FA Cup last month and opened up on the advice by Frank Lampard.
Billy Gilmour has been the talk of the town for the Blues since his breakthrough earlier on this season. The 18-year-old revealed words of encouragement his manager Frank Lampard gave him before his sensational performance for Chelsea against Premier League leaders Liverpool in March.
The Scottish teenager wooed fans at West London and pundits alike with a mature display against the European champions, looking every inch of a first-team player as Chelsea knocked Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win.
Gilmour had made his Premier League debut against Chris Wilders’ Sheffield United early in August, but the prospect of starting against a side he called “the best team in the world” could have been a daunting task for the youngster under the 41-year-old Lampard.
While speaking to reporters from Sky Sports, Gilmour explained that Lampard always offers him key pieces of advice leading up to big games and allows youngsters to express their natural ability, “Leading up to the games, I was always thinking about what I’m going to do,” “When the gaffer spoke to me, he said, ‘Go out and play your own game’. That gives you a lot of confidence to go out and do what you love. Playing in the game, there were parts that I felt were difficult but when I got on the ball, I felt good. I had players running off, so it was making it easy for me.”
Gilmour further added that he was delighted to play well against the Merseyside giants and also receive the Man of the Match award, “It was a great, great game so I was happy to play well, and then receiving the man of the match, it was amazing. I never thought of it, I just wanted to play the game well, not muck up anything, and play the game right. To get the first-team experience against Liverpool, the best team in the world right now, felt good.”
