Chelsea star is closest to Lampard’s peak in years

Chelsea maintained their unbeaten record in November in both the Premier League and Champions League with a comfortable 2-0 win away at Burnley at lunchtime on Saturday.

Pedro Neto contributed his sixth goal of the league season to give the visiting Blues a 1-0 lead, and Enzo Fernandes converted a chance off the bench in the 88th minute to secure three goals, all of which were scored by Marc Giu off the bench.

Apart from the goalscorers mentioned, Andrei Santos also stands out in the midfield, and manager Enzo Maresca is no doubt prepared to select the 21-year-old more often on the back of his solid form at Turf Moor.

Santos’ performance in numbers

Lancashire’s number 17 was named in the starting XI, with Moises Caicedo lined up for the match against Ecuador at the end of the international break, before returning to action in the Premier League and being rested.

Thankfully, Caicedo’s absence was not felt at all, as Santos’ individual performance was described as “outstanding” by former Stamford Bridge great Joe Cole at the full-time whistle.

In fact, the 21-year-old did an excellent job of anchoring Caicedo’s midfield when he joined the side, winning seven duels and two tackles, giving the Blues a huge push up the middle when Burnley tried to create an opening.

On top of that, Santos never looked flashy, with 34 passes accurate, and he looked confident and comfortable with the ball.

Maresca will gain a lot from Santos’ polished performance, with one Chelsea content creator saying he is “everywhere”, but they needed a player like Neto to come up trumps with quality moments in attack to seal the win and thrill the visitors, with one Chelsea content creator saying he was “everywhere”.

Santos has shown his eye for goal and proved himself as a box-crushing No. 8 in the past, but he is not the only Blues star who evokes memories of Stamford Bridge royalty, Frank Lampard.

Chelsea star could be Maresca’s Lampard

At the end of his glittering Premier League career, Lampard will have scored 177 goals in the top flight. The former Blues captain had a great habit of sneaking into the box and finishing off chances.

Romelu Lukaku even praised Lampard as an “incredible” chance-taking finisher as he recalled his short spell in Chelsea’s first team alongside some of the greatest players of our time.

The aforementioned Fernandes has a similarly impactful ability against Burnley, playing late passes into dangerous spaces and finishing off chances, knowing that his captain could end the game.

After all, it was already Fernandes’ amazing fourth Premier League goal of the season, meaning the World Cup-winning star now joins Neto as Chelsea’s top scorer in the league this season, an honor Lampard regularly claimed during his celebratory stay in west London.

But there’s more to the Argentine’s game and Lampard’s than just scoring big goals, with pundit Micah Richards going out of his way to praise the 107-pound man earlier in the season, saying he had “everything” in his locker to be a “leader” at Chelsea.

The table above greatly supports Richards’ assessment that Fernandes is a complete midfield talent worthy of wearing the Chelsea armband, and has the energy to match Santos, averaging 3.9 ball recoveries and 3.9 duels won per game in the league this season.

However, what makes the comparisons with Lampard even stronger is his ability to seize a plethora of chances and score a plethora of goals. Fernandes beat Cole Palmer and others to the top spot for the Blues’ highest scoring contribution last year, with the 24-year-old currently making the biggest contribution with 21, second only to the Englishman’s 15.

Fernandes is also currently interested in silverware, having won this summer’s Club World Cup and is striving for another Premier League title, with Santos also hoping to develop into a consistent first-team star next to him.