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Tammy Abraham: Chelsea unearth their present and future source of goals in Aston Villa win

Abraham pays tribute to the fans at Stamford Bridge: Getty
Abraham pays tribute to the fans at Stamford Bridge: Getty

Something transforms Tammy Abraham when he steps over the chalk markings and into the penalty area. It is one of the fundamentals to becoming a great No 9: mastering spacial awareness. An initial flurry of goals (he now has 11 in 14 Premier League appearances) has obscured Abraham’s wider value to this team.

After the smooth nature of Frank Lampard’s philosophy hit the rocks in recent games, Chelsea were searching for new ways to manufacture goals against Aston Villa. And while not revolutionary, an obvious blueprint emerged in last night’s hard-fought win, which ought to be followed in the coming weeks.

It was, as Lampard described, “completely different” to what he saw in the 1-0 loss to West Ham. More refined and less spontaneous than some of the joyous displays his Chelsea side has previously produced.

But by feeding Abraham inside the box, notably through Reece James’s regular forays down the right, Lampard may finally have the Plan B he craves – which should not be dismissed as a Plan A at times either.

James was relentless against West Ham in a losing effort, making eight dribbles and nine crosses. And Lampard, entrusting James with a third start inside a week, gave him the green light to resume that role: adding another six crosses and contributing a vital assist. Profiting from Mateo Kovacic’s ease at switching play, James found Abraham for the opener to begin what will surely become a prolific combination for years to come.

A goal made in Cobham: it could eventually be seen as a moment to encapsulate what Lampard has constructed this season.

There was no celebration though, of course, a sign of respect towards Villa’s travelling contingent, who showered him with appreciation for his prolific loan spell last season that took them back to the promised land.

The goal resembled Abraham’s headed strike against Wolves from earlier this season, which was a far more difficult opportunity and proves that the service does not always need to be so precise. Chelsea will surely not have to wait quite so long to see the No 9 score again in similar fashion.

“Tammy at the moment is Tammy. He’s a personality in the dressing room,” a glowing Lampard remarked afterwards. “He’s a striker near the top, showing his all round game.”

It is rare to stumble across a striker so willing to occupy defenders, with Tyrone Mings in particular enduring a bruising evening. Despite Abraham nursing a hip problem, the England defender was dragged out towards the channels but mostly met a solid wall in the form of 22-year-old’s frame whenever the ball appeared to be within reach. Abraham, already adept at waiting for help to arrive and a simple lay-off, is now brimming with confidence and is even able to throw out the occasional outstretched heel to guide the ball into the path of a teammate.

His influence even spread to his time off the ball too, including a lung-busting run back towards his own goal which saw Abraham block John McGinn’s shot and start a counter-attack, with James, as usual, a useful outlet.

But it was back inside the box that Abraham furthered his influence, chesting down for Mason Mount to slash home, a plan drawn up inside the dressing room at the break.

“We spoke at half-time, I told him (Mount), ‘listen, balls are coming into me, just stay close to me and I promise I’ll set you up at least once’,” Abraham revealed afterwards. “And as soon as we got out there it happened. You could see in the celebrations we were talking about it.”

Now Lampard must establish a regular route into his No 9, with James quickly proving why their blossoming combination could become a hallmark of this team for years to come.

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