Chelsea defensive duo are the bedrock of impressive run under Frank Lampard

James Olley5 November 2019

There’s rich competition for the most surprising development of Chelsea’s season to date, but high on the list is the burgeoning centre-back pairing of Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori.

Arguably, the first big decision Frank Lampard made as Blues head coach was to sanction the sale of David Luiz to Arsenal, but even in the wake of that surprise move, you would have got long odds on these two being designated with the task of keeping out Ajax.

Injuries to Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger mean it is a union the product of accident as well as design, but one that Lampard is beginning to place considerable trust in.

There is, of course, room for improvement, given the Blues have kept just three clean sheets in all competitions this season. However, two of those were with Zouma and Tomori at the back and, by some distance, the most impressive came in the reverse fixture two weeks ago.

Chelsea’s midfield worked tirelessly to repel the Dutch side in Amsterdam, but it was their two central defenders who excelled, as Ajax failed to score for the first time in 18 Champions League home matches in the 1-0 reverse.

Lampard had hitherto opted for a three-man defence in Europe’s premier club competition, mindful of instilling a greater level of structural security in a youthful line-up, but a Blues back four now looks here to stay. And of the 10 times Chelsea have started in 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 in the Premier League, Tomori and Zouma have been picked together five times.

The partnership had an inauspicious start, as the Blues fluffed a two-goal lead to draw against Sheffield United four games into the campaign. Zouma scored an unfortunate 89th-minute own goal when he deflected Lys ­Mousset’s cross past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Yet, it is now the bedrock of a domestic run which has steered Chelsea the right side of a growing gap between the top four and the rest, while resurrecting a Champions League campaign that will continue tonight in west London.

“I am chatting a lot with Fikayo,” Zouma told Standard Sport. “We are both young but we also have [Cesar] Azpi[licueta] on one side, Marcos [Alonso] too and Jorginho in front of us — and they are experienced. The thing is, the age doesn’t matter. You can see, you can play well. We talk a lot and it is all about communication.

In Pictures | Chelsea training | 04.11.19

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“He [Tomori] is very talented. He got his first call-up in the last few weeks and he deserved it. You can see the way he plays, he is very comfortable with the ball and without it he has got pace and can defend very well, even on one-on-ones he doesn’t get beaten.

“He is a very good player for us. Like everyone, he is working hard because the competition is hard. We just want to be on the pitch doing well.”

Tomori has been individually rewarded with a call-up to England’s senior squad for last month’s matches against the Czech Republic and ­Bulgaria.

By contrast, Zouma’s own resurgence has perhaps been under-represented. It is easy to forget the Frenchman has only just turned 25 and is seeking to establish himself after spending two seasons out on loan at Stoke and then Everton, following a serious knee injury.

“It has been a while since I wore the Chelsea shirt,” Zouma added. “I have missed it a bit. I have played 16 games and I am very happy with that. But the most important thing is to keep going. It is not finished. It is just the beginning of the season. Let’s see what happens — there are three Champions League [group] games left and we want to win them. It doesn’t matter how many games I play, I just want to win. That’s it. It is good to play. That’s why I stayed here, to play, but we need to keep ­working every day and make sure we win every day.”

This is a young team that has ­experienced many highs so far, but Mason Mount believes beating Ajax, last year’s Champions League semi-finalists, ranks as the most significant result they have secured to date.

“Yeah, that’s probably number one,” he said. “They did so well last season and we went into the game [in Amsterdam] knowing they’d won both [prior] games and [were in] a very good ­position in the table.

“We knew we had to go there and be very professional and do a good job. We did that and it’s put us in a very good position in the group. We know how important this game is. We need to keep working hard and bring the performance from Holland back to England and replicate that.”

N’Golo Kante may be given the chance to prove his problems are behind him after an extended rest following groin, ankle, knee and hamstring ­complaints.

As for Zouma and Tomori, they just need to keep doing what they have been doing so well.

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