Chelsea boss Frank Lampard spoke at a press conference on Friday afternoon ahead of this weekend’s game against Leeds. Here are three things we learned.
‘No assurances’ for Giroud
“I don’t think it’s a case of giving anyone assurances of game time. All you want is for players, when they are out of the team, to train well, get themselves in the team and perform like he did the other day.
“Of course that gives me nice problems. Oli has always done that for me here.
“At the back end of last season he played as regularly as he has played at Chelsea in my time at the club. In the restart he was fundamental in us getting to the Champions League spots.
“I am happy with him. He has given me a really nice problem; his form is good, he is training well and I am obviously not going to give my team selection away today.
“In that forward area I have competition for places. Tammy Abraham has been playing very well for us this season and been scoring goals and making assists.
“Tammy brings attributes. Olivier, as we saw the other night, bring his attributes. That’s great competition for me.
“I can’t give assurances and you’d have to ask Oli. But I never see anything negative from Oli and I’ve got huge respect for him.
“And, playing like the way he did the other night, clearly he’s going to get opportunities because that was a top-class performance all round.”
Gilmour also faces tough competition
“We are competitive in midfield. We don’t have injuries at the moment so the numbers mean that some players miss out on squads – some do tomorrow.
“Billy’s quality will shine through but there is competition in that area, so we’ll have to see.”
Lampard rates Leeds highly
“They are a very good, very well-managed team. They play with incredible energy and speed in their game. I know it will be a competitive match because that is how Leeds approach games.
“It will be a big test for us. If you analyse Leeds and look at the stats they have lots of shots and are scoring goals against top teams.
“They create a lot so will have to be at our absolute best in terms of concentration and the togetherness as we defend. They are one for the most dangerous teams in the league.”