BLUE DAY
Chelsea 2 Wolves 0: Frank Lampard leads Blues to Champions League as Mount scores brilliant free-kick and adds assist
RANK LAMPARD delivered the Champions’ League football Roman Abramovich
demands in his debut season as Blues boss - and will head into Saturday’s FA
Cup final against Arsenal on a huge high.
Chelsea secured a place in the Champions League next season after a 2-0
win over Wolves
Mason Mount opened the scoring with a brilliant
free-kick - and then added an assist for Olivier GiroudCredit:
Getty - Pool
Two goals in first-half stoppage time from
Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud left Wolves wondering what had hit them at the
end of an otherwise uneventful first half.
Bruno Fernandez’s second half penalty
for Manchester United against Leicester at the King Power may have robbed
Chelsea of third place.
But Lampard’s achievement in finishing
fourth - despite a transfer ban and the loss of Eden Hazard - should be
applauded as he looks to build a new Blues dynasty.
His new £45million arrival Timo Werner
watched on from the posh seats as his teammates guaranteed him a Champions’
League stage to strut his stuff on when he returns after a mini close season.
However it’s likely Lampard will have
a new goalkeeper between the sticks by then after ruthlessly axing Kepa from
his starting line-up here.
The
Chelsea boss knew when he picked his team he only needed a point - and he made
one by dropping the world’s most expensive goalie.
The
sloppy Spaniard cost £76.1million but now faces a summer of uncertainty as he
waits to discover if Wednesday’s 5-3 defeat at Anfield turns out to be his
swansong for Chelsea.
“It’s
just a choice,” said Lampard in his pre-match interview. “Kepa’s had some
difficult times so I’ve picked Willy.”
But to swap goalies ahead of such a
crucial match speaks volumes and it’s unlikely to have a fairytale ending now
for the 25-year-old keeper who is likely to be flogged to the highest bidder
ASAP - despite having four years left to run on his £150,000 a week contract..
It
remains to be seen if Lampard will relent and recall Kepa at Wembley for the FA
Cup final in six days time - but if I was Kepa I’d bring a cushion along!
Both
sides had one eye on Europe and nerves took hold during a deadly dull first
half which was short on incident and certainly won’t live long in the memory.
But all
that changed as the backroom boys started pouring out the players’ half-time
cuppas.
Marcos Alonso earned his side the
softest of free kicks - and Wolves wrath - by conning a free kick out of ref
Stuart Attwell one minute into stoppage time.
And as Chelsea’s three-man wall ducked
in front of Wolves’ version, Mason Mount swept a brilliant dipping delivery
over the wall and into the far corner of Rui Patricio’s net for his 7th Premier
goal of the season and first goal since March 8.
Wolves wobbled momentarily and Chelsea
cashed in by adding a second three minutes later through their new man of the
moment.
Oliver Giroud took a Mount pass in his
stride after good work from Christian Pulisic and chopped inside Wolves
onrushing goalie Rui Patricio.