Kai Havertz showed that writing him off in his debut season having played just two matches with his new club is probably a bad idea for all. He burst into life with an incredible hat-trick after heavy criticism because of his rusty displays against Brighton and the subsequent loss to Liverpool. With his goal and others, Chelsea reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup by hammering Barnsley in style.
This was a kind of reminder everybody deserves as the winger has barely got any time to settle after his big-money move from Bayer Leverkusen. He is a generational talent who had played in the quarter-finals of the Europa League just over a month ago. The 21-year-old has hardly enjoyed any break since the end of the previous season and has been thrown straight in after his move from Bayer Leverkusen. On top of that, he was there present to carry out his national duties.
No one can question his class. Although his combination with Tammy Abraham was brilliant, he needs to do more than just hammer Barnsley to justify the hype around him.
Frank Lampard was very elated with the former Leverkusen attacker, so he said, “It was everything I wanted.”
“He’s had no pre-season. It was a great night for Kai and the first of many,” the Chelsea manager said.
It was a satisfying night for the Chelsea coach. Thiago Silva made his debut in Chelsea’s central defence and Abraham showed what he’s capable of upfront. Callum Hudson-Odoi though looked a little rusty after a week of speculation over his future at Stamford Bridge but his attitude was good. though, There were moments of sparks in the field.
“I thought he did well,” Lampard said. “He looked sharp.”
Lampard’s team selection demonstrated why he wants to offload some of his players from his squad before the transfer window closes on 5 October. The absence of Ruben Loftus-Cheek summed up the competition in the team and Antonio Rüdiger looks almost certain to join a new club after being left out of the starting XI for the second successive game.
“Nothing is concrete,” Lampard said. “Don’t read too much into those selections at the minute.”
Hudson-Odoi seemed too eager to please his manager. At times, he needed to just relax as he worked hard on the right-wing. The 19-year-old should have followed the example of Tammy Abraham, another lad who was interested to show that he is capable to compete with Timo Werner. The striker did a smooth finish to give Chelsea an early lead in the 18th minute of the match.
As the match progressed, Kai Havertz took all the limelight. He had a superb game in the No. 10 role given by Frank Lampard. The winger scored his debut goal for the Blues when Abraham dummied a pass from Mason Mount through to him. Havertz made no mistake to finish calmly.
.@KaiHavertz29's first goal for the Blues! 🙌
(That @TammyAbraham dummy too… 🤤) pic.twitter.com/XIBpQ5hzSI
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 24, 2020
There was an opportunity for Hudson-Odoi too early in the game. The winger who had fallen down the pecking order got a point to make but his shot went just inches away from the goal.
Even in the presence of Thiago Silva alongside Fikayo Tomori, Chelsea was shaky in the backline. At the left-back position, Emerson Palmieri struggled heavily as Barnsley made too many attempts which forced Willy Caballero to save.
Rudiger’s performance was enough to convince the Chelsea board to not stand in his way out of the Stamford Bridge. Lampard will certainly let the German winger leave if offers are proposed.
