Lampard on Abraham penalty-taking frustration: He’s been put in his place

By Paul Lagan

Frank Lampard was naturally delighted with his four goals that saw off Crystal Palace today At Stamford Bridge.

He said: “Not too many get four past Palace.

“We started well, but lacked speed, but we showed it well in the second half.

“I told the players we needed to mix it up, get (Ben) Chilwell into the game and the ball behind their back four for (Tammy) Abraham.”

The left back was man of the match and Lampard agreed: “Chilwell was fantastic,” he said.

“He has the capacity to go up and back.”

Tammy Abraham showed a degree of dissent when he tried to take the ball for a penalty. He and Timo Werner wanted to take the spot kick, but skipper Cesar Azpilicueta popped up and put his foot down. He took the ball off Abraham and handed it to official penalty taker Jorginho.

Abraham was clearly annoyed as he w;led away

Lampard was quick to try and diffuse the situation and reassert his authority.

“It’s been dealt with in the dressing room,” said the former Chelsea defender.

“I don’t mind a little bit of conflict, but he (Abraham) was put in his place. There is a (penalty taker) list.

“It might have been different if a player was on a hat-trick and we were comfortable. I might have changed it. But it’s sorted.”