Frank Lampard is looking to establish strong competition at Chelsea after dropping Christian Pulisic from his squad against LOSC Lille.
The £58m signing from last January, who joined the Blues squad this season has found it hard to break into the senior side despite Lampard’s eagerness to promote youth talent.
Chelsea secured a 1-2 win over Lille to go third in their Champions League group on Wednesday. Lampard shocked Blues fans by not even naming Pulisic as one of his substitutes for the fixture.
Willian’s goal helped them seal three points as the Brazilian a lot of praise from his manager. Lampard explained how the winger affected his side and why it is important to be “on edge” to earn a spot in this young Chelsea side.
Speaking about Willian, the Blues boss said, “He’s been really important. He’s a top player, I want to see him happy and have a smile on his face. His work ethic has been brilliant. He can take people out with his speed and trickery, and he can score goals for us. And that’s a lovely balance for the younger players.
“We have to have really strong competition in wide areas and attacking areas. It must be like that, it must be on edge, and I’ve got a few different options in that area. But Willian gives us experience and he’s shown in the last two games with goals on top of great work ethic and quality.”
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