Blues’ central defender Fikayo Tomori described Liverpool duo of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah as the toughest opponents he’s faced in the Premier League so far.
Tomori returned to Stamford Bridge last summer after a successful loan spell at Derby County, once again reuniting with head coach Frank Lampard, who left his post at Pride Park to replace Italian manager Maurizio Sarri at the west London club.
The Premier League giants were unable to sign any new players prior to the 2019-20 season due to a transfer ban that was imposed by FIFA, so the 41-year-old Lampard took the decision to promote a number of academy stars instead.
Lampard’s decision to put faith in his youth has paid dividends and one player that has grown in stature is England star Fikayo Tomori. The 22-year-old already racked up 22 appearances across all competitions to propel Chelsea into fourth place on the Premier League table and also reach the latter stages of both, the Champions League and FA Cup.
Lampard’s Chelsea overcame a youthful Liverpool side to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in February, gaining revenge for two painful defeats earlier on in the season.
The Merseyside giants conquered Chelsea on penalties in the UEFA Super Cup final, before securing a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Firmino grabbing the goals for the visiting side.
Tomori recently spoke to Sky Sports and revealed that he had to adapt his game since stepping up into the Premier League from the Championship. The young defender also admitted that he relished playing against Liverpool duo of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, two of his toughest opponents till date.
“Firmino was probably the most difficult [to play against] – along with Salah. Every time they got the ball, I was thinking, ‘This is a challenge but this is where I want to be – this is a chance to prove that I can play at this level.’“, he said
