Chelsea delivered another entertaining preseason win against RB Salzburg on Wednesday. The four players who powered the highlight reel showed much more of their value than just the ability to create jaw-dropping moments in a friendly.
For a manager who has yet to utter the word “fun” publicly, Frank Lampard sure knows how to deliver a show. Chelsea’s goals against RB Salzburg were enough to permit fans to overlook the many defensive lapses, as the simple mathematics of scoring more goals than you concede gave the Blues a delightful win that still leaves plenty of work to be done on the training ground. Ross Barkley, Christian Pulisic, Pedro and Michy Batshuayi each left important messages about the season ahead.
1. Ross Barkley
If Ross Barkley makes a few passes in the Premier League or Champions League like he made against RB Salzburg, he will work off his £15 million transfer fee by October. The form he has shown in the last few games, improving upon his tandem with Mason Mount against Reading with a dominant individual showing on Wednesday, is a reminder of why he was once one of the top English prospects before his Everton career hit a slump compounded by injuries at Chelsea.
Barkley’s assists on Christian Pulisic’s and Pedro’s goals were Cesc Fabregas-esque in their vision, timing and execution. Barkley is normally valued for his aggressive dribbling through the center and long-range passes. But against RB Salzburg he set up goals from deeper positions, showing a level of technical dexterity few would otherwise credit him for.
As an English midfielder who has worn the No. 8, Barkley is primed for the education and motivation Frank Lampard will provide.
Like Ronald Koeman did in Barkley’s breakthrough season at Everton, Lampard is giving Barkley the freedom and encouragement to explore the limits of his abilities everywhere on the pitch. This allows Barkley to surprise the fans while repaying his manager’s trust. More please.
2. Christian Pulisic
Christian Pulisic created his goals from the kinds of runs Chelsea have not had in some time: running in behind the lines, meeting the ball at full stretch.
The Blues have had several years where their wingers and strikers only want the ball played in to their feet. This would drive them to drop deep to receive the ball, letting the opposition defence close up their lines and set their markers for when the Chelsea players turned to start their run. Whether the Blues were on the counter-attack or playing against a low block, they gave themselves no option but to run with the ball at the defenders, rather than timing a run into space to get between the defenders and the goal.
Frank Lampard applauded Pulisic’s efforts on this front:
"I loved the nature of his goals where he had an intention to run behind the line and not come short… The winger has to not just have the desire to be tidy, but to get behind and then with his quality he can be a really big player for us. – Telegraph"
This creates a new avenue of attack for the Blues. Especially in the early part of the season Pulisic’s runs will be difficult to defend against because Chelsea’s opponents are not used to seeing these from the men in Blue. With Barkley, David Luiz, Mason Mount and perhaps even Jorginho sending in these passes, Pulisic will have plenty of opportunities to run in behind and see what service awaits him.
3. Pedro
Pedro’s goal should be a contender for goal of the season, even if it did come in the preseason. However, it should not be a surprise for anyone.
Pedro has more trophies than any other player in the Premier League, spanning his career with Barcelona, Spain and Chelsea. He has not been a beneficiary of circumstance to pick up those trophies. The speedy winger has been a key figure, even if sometimes as “just” a role player, for some of the most talented teams and demanding coaches of the last decade.
Pedro’s quality, effort and commitment are beyond any fair or reasonable doubt. He does exactly what is asked of him at all times, and delivers goals, direct runs and open space, season after season, team after team, coach after coach. He always has a golazo in him, and his scorpion kick against RB Salzburg is just one more for the library.
Pedro will always do his job like the professional that he is. But like Ross Barkely, give him the extra bit of freedom and motivation, and he’ll deliver something over the top.
We can make fun of his freneticism and sometimes spastic-looking runs, but that should be only a layer of banter over deep appreciation for his high quality footballing skills and what he can bring to Chelsea until his last game.
4. Michy Batshuayi
Michy Batshuayi’s goal should not be a contender for goal of the season. In fact, it should not even be a contender for best goal of the day, and that’s saying something since the Major League Soccer All-Star team played later that night, and they produce some pretty awful goals.
Batshuayi’s goal was ridiculous, banter-ific, absurd, ugly, shambolic and kinda clumsy, but such goals are still worth one goal on the score sheet. No team wins a trophy without a few lucky ugly goals, and Batshuayi knows how to score them.
Beyond the banter, Batshuayi’s goal says a lot about why he deserves a place in this team.
Sure, he should have buried the first shot. But he didn’t, and he could have given up on the rebound. He could have bobbled the rebound. He could have lost control of the ball when the defender slid in, or he could have lost his head and sent his final shot into the stands.
Batshuayi did none of those things. He kept his composure, reacted with a goal scorer’s instinctive intelligence to find the right shot and then buried it.
Chelsea need a striker who is always in the right place at the right time, and who knows how to handle the situation when the right place at the right time becomes the wrong place at an awkward time. Batshuayi, like Olivier Giroud, has a way of showing up where the balls pops lose. Like Giroud, he does not worry about things like “proper” form or setting up the textbook perfect shot. The proper form on the perfect shot is the one that puts the ball in the net.
Michy Batshuayi should be part of a well-rounded Chelsea squad. There will be games and moments of utter chaos and absurdity that call out for someone like him to join in the chaos and add to the absurdity, before wheeling away in celebration, as he once did at The Hawthorns.