Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are officially Europe’s clean sheet kings
Ahead of Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League clash against Stade Rennes, Frank Lampard singled out goalkeeper Edouard Mendy for praise.
The Blues boss acknowledged the Senegalese’s contribution to the team’s renewed solidity at the back. The newly signed keeper has now kept successive clean sheets in the Premier League and Europe.
On Wednesday, Chelsea recorded another clean sheet after flying to a 3-0 win against Rennes to consolidate their position as leaders in Group E. It was the perfect night for Mendy, who was playing against his former side.
The 28-year-old joined Chelsea from Rennes in the summer and has quickly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge. It’s no coincidence that his arrival coincided with an improvement in Chelsea’s defense.
Clean sheet specialists?
The London outfit has now kept clean sheets in each of their last five games, the first time they’ve achieved such a feat in a decade. Chelsea are also yet to concede in Champions League in three games this season.
It is early days but these statistics are impressive, especially for a backline containing three new signings.
Mendy is not the only one who has settled in seamlessly, the center-back pairing of Kurt Zouma and Thiago Silva is thriving and the duo has formed an impeccable partnership at the back.
Left-back Ben Chilwell is also enjoying his time with the Blues, having brought a sense of calm to the backline.
Chelsea now defensively solid and lethal in attack
The London team has now recorded six clean sheets in their last seven games. Surely, it’s not far-fetched to crown the Blues as Europe’s early clean sheet specialists.
To top things off, the team is beginning to score goals for fun. Despite the absence of Kai Havertz, who missed the game against Rennes after testing positive for COVID-19, Chelsea’s attack looked sharp.
Timo Werner scored twice against the Ligue 1 side, while Tammy Abraham also came off the bench to score for the second successive game in the Champions League.
Any manager would be delighted to see his team scoring freely while racking up clean sheets. As for Lampard, it’s only right that he enjoys the moment after finally finding a solution to Chelsea’s erstwhile leaky defence.