Chelsea: Four lessons learnt as Blues secure Champions League place

Chelsea comfortably defeated Wolves at Stamford Bridge to secure Champions League football next season. Here are four lessons learnt.

In what was Chelsea’s season-defining match of the peculiar 2019/20 campaign, Frank Lampard’s men knew that a point was enough to secure Champions League football next season. Chelsea has been in the top four since October and a stumble against Wolves would’ve proven costly for the club.

Nonetheless, despite a slow start from the home side, two quick-fire, stoppage time goals courtesy of Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud set the tone for the rest of the match. Ultimately, in what was an otherwise boring match at times, it was those individual moments of brilliance that would prove decisive for the Blues as the game ended with Chelsea winning 2-0. Here are four things we learnt:

1. Magnificent Mason

It has been a Premier League season to remember for Mount. Having made his first team debut just under a year ago against Manchester United, the young Englishman has since received his first senior England cap and went on to make 51 appearances for the Blues—and counting.

This exponential development in such a short span of time was best epitomised with a Man of the Match performance against Wolves on the final day of the league campaign. The first half saw the 21-year-old score a peach of a free-kick from the edge of the area before setting up the second less than two minutes later with a sublime through ball to Giroud. Aside from the fact that Mount’s two direct goal contributions would prove decisive in the club’s quest for consecutive top four finishes for the first time in five seasons, the Englishman has now recorded eight goals and five assists during his maiden campaign in the English top flight. While 13 goal contributions in 51 appearances thus far most certainly isn’t the best goalscoring return ever, at 21, Mount’s industry and work rate have seen him become almost undroppable in Lampard’s press-heavy style of play.

With the FA Cup Final still to be played in just under a week’s time, Mount’s debut season at the very pinnacle of English football could yet see him finish with silverware come the conclusion of the 19/20 campaign. Not bad for a guy who supposedly provides nothing useful to the team, according to some ‘fans’.

2. Kepa is most likely done at Chelsea

Chelsea’s match against Wolves had the potential to be a season-defining moment for both the club and the manager; it is very telling that Lampard chose to leave the £71 million keeper on the bench. Having turned in a horrid performance last time out against Liverpool during which the Spaniard conceded five times from an expected-goal-against-value of 1.45, it is safe to say that the shot-stopper didn’t exactly cover himself in glory. The statistics do not look good for Chelsea’s No. 1 and his performance against Liverpool was but a representation of just how poor Kepa has been throughout the season. Having already conceded close to 10 goals more than what is expected of an average goalkeeper, the 25-year-old’s absence from the side at such a crucial stage of the season may well signal the end of the short-lived career in the blue of Chelsea.

3. Clinical Chelsea

As much as the Blues have often been guilty of squandering their chances created throughout the course of the season, Chelsea was surprisingly clinical against Wolves when it mattered the most. Chelsea had two shots on target coming to the end of the first half when the game was still in a deadlock and went on the score from both their shots on goal. The goals coming in quick succession and at such a crucial junction of the 90′ completely knocked the wind out of the visitors, a blow which Wolves would struggle to recover from after the break. The two shots on goal in the first half would eventually turn out to be the only two shots on goal Chelsea was able to muster in the entirety of the game and the clinical finishing when it mattered ultimately won Lampard’s side the match; along with securing a place in next season’s premier European competition.

4. A proper farewell

It has been five eventful years for Pedro since he signed for the Blues from his boyhood club of Barcelona. Despite some initial struggles as the team stumbled into a 10th placed finish in the Spaniard’s debut season at the Bridge, the subsequent years have seen him continue adding to his trophy collection regardless. With the conclusion of last season’s successful Europa League under Maurizio Sarri, Pedro was officially able to complete the collection having scored himself in the finals against Arsenal.

While the 32-year-old has most certainly not had the best of season this year under Lampard’s tutelage, his professionalism has remained consistent throughout and his influence on the team quite simply cannot be ignored. Pedro is the definition of a modern professional and a serial winner—Sunday’s sending off in the form of a five minute cameo on the Stamford Bridge turf is a fitting one for a player who has given his all since his arrival at SW6 five years ago.

What lessons did you learn from the last match of the season? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!