Chelsea’s five most memorable matches of the 2019/2020 season

3. Manchester United 4-0 Chelsea

Now rewind right back to the beginning. A first league fixture under new management, the curtain was finally unveiled on Lampard in the Chelsea dugout with the Premier League eager to find out what he had been rehearsing over the summer. All eyes immediately turned to the selection of Mount and Abraham, mere understudies to the senior side since their rise through the youth ranks. Now, they were thrown straight into the spotlight on opening night at the Theater of Dreams against Manchester United.

Much media hype had swirled around the transfer ban handed to Lampard, and the loss of Eden Hazard, but for the first 45 minutes, Chelsea looked more in control despite going a goal down to a Marcus Rashford penalty. Abraham and Emerson both struck the upright as the Blues dominated possession, but eventually found themselves trailing thanks to the spot kick conceded by Kurt Zouma. Unfortunately, the reoccurring defensive issues across the campaign were highlighted from day one, with Zouma having a poor performance and a wider lack of cohesion across the back.

United sealed the points with three goals on the break in the second half as Chelsea pushed for an equalizer, with their own newly installed manager watching on in delight. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was into his first full term in charge of his former club, like Lampard, and the pair would come extremely acquainted to one another over the course of the season. It was certainly a lesson for Lampard and the improvements that needed to be addressed, however the show was finally on the road.