Chelsea: Frank Lampard is finally channelling his inner Jose Mourinho

Recent performances have shown Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has a little bit of former Blues boss Jose Mourinho inside of him.

Contrary to popular opinion, Chelsea’s win over Rennes in the Champions League was as good a performance as Frank Lampard’s team has achieved so far this season. It was a thing of sheer beauty. The Blues captured a classic smash and grab away victory in Europe’s premier competition. It may not have been easy on the eye, but the win was born out of hard work and perseverance.

As football supporters, we all want to see our team play expansive, beautiful attacking football. Though sometimes, that’s not attainable. Of course, it could be said that the Blues should have been further ahead and maybe they ought to have made things much easier for themselves out in France. This was top European competition though—there are no easy games.

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As Lampard looks forward to welcoming his former boss—Jose Mourinho—back to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the Rennes win was one that would have made Mourinho himself proud. Having grabbed an early goal, Chelsea—and in particular, Timo Werner—missed opportunities to put the game to bed. It was with some inevitability that the equaliser came with just five minutes to go.

Between the two goals, there had been some strong defending from both sides. What was apparent from Lampard’s perspective was the offensive half of the team getting back and joining in with the back line to keep a clean sheet. The front three were all prepared to get behind the ball and put themselves in Rennes’ line of fire.

When the goal came late on, Eduard Mendy—for all his height, skill and agility—was never saving it. It was a header from ‘unstoppable street’. Mendy has been a revelation since his arrival though and it can be no coincidence that the goals conceded stats have dropped dramatically. With a confident keeper behind them, the defence have all played their part and with Lampard building a squad for the future, it’s the here and now that is beginning to look exciting.

Chelsea started the game with three former academy players. Those that said the Cobham academy did nothing for Chelsea as a club have run out of things to say now. The arrival of Lampard as manager—and perhaps more importantly, former academy coaches Jody Morris and Joe Edwards—has really seen the squad’s average age drop. Realistically, Reece James, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Fikayo Tomori could all legitimately start any game for the club they’ve grown up at. That’s a magnificent achievement both technically and financially. As supporters, we have to be incredibly proud of our club.

However, it’s not just about ‘the kids’. With five minutes to go in the Stade de la Route de Lorient on Tuesday evening, Timo Werner’s effort to grab a winning goal was saved by Alfred Gomis’ feet. As the ball ballooned high up into the sky, it was footballing stalwart, Olivier Giroud, who timed his jump perfectly to plant a header high into the Rennes net to seal the win for the Londoners.

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective and in the end a delightful, sumptuous victory. For footballing purists, it was a perfectly executed away game in Europe. Of course, for some spoilt Chelsea supporters it was not good enough, but sometimes the result is everything. With Lampard now channelling his inner Mourinho, expect more of the same if the game demands it.

When the Apprentice meets the Sorcerer, it will be interesting to see whose side can produce what would be a magical win.