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Norwich 2-3 Chelsea: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Abraham Double Lands Lampards First Win

​Chelsea picked up their first three points of the season thanks to a hard-fought 3-2 win over Norwich, being pegged back twice before Tammy Abraham fired Frank Lampard to his first-ever win as a Premier League manager.

It took the visitors less than three minutes to break the deadlock at Carrow Road, with Abraham left unmarked in the penalty area to fire a low shot past Tim Krul, but Lampard's side held their lead for just 155 seconds as Norwich's star striker Teemu Pukki turned provider to set up Todd Cantwell.


With a quarter of an hour barley on the clock, Mason Mount restored Chelsea's lead, combining with Christian Pulisic before sending a powerful shot into the top corner of the net.

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It could have been even worse for Norwich if it wasn't for some fine reactions from Krul to keep out Andreas Christensen, but instead, Pukki was teed up by Moritz Leitner at the other end of the pitch and the Finland international unsurprisingly made no mistake from the tight angle.


Chelsea struggled to create anything of note in the second half but looked like they'd get a lifeline when César Azpilicueta was brought down in the penalty area. Referee Martin Atkinson waved it away - what looked like a clear and obvious error - but the Video Assistant Referee didn't intervene.


It proved not to matter in the grand scheme of things for Chelsea, as Abraham scored his second of the match shortly after by wrong-footing Krul from the edge of the penalty area. 

VAR then ruled out a close-range effort from Kurt Zouma for a foul on Krul as the new technology tried its best to dominate the headlines, but Chelsea kept their composure and held on for a deserved win.

NORWICH

Key Talking Point

If there's one thing we've learned from Norwich's opening three games it's that if they do indeed stay in the Premier League, they're going to do so playing their way.

Another defensive display from the Canaries which would leave José Mourinho visibly nauseous, Daniel Farke's side were spared by a combination of pretty tame attacking play from Chelsea, as well as a certain Finland international at the other end of the pitch. 

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Norwich will have to learn quickly that they need to cut down on the number of defensive errors as they're punished almost every time in the Premier League, but they've shown enough going forward that they could avoid the drop this season.

Player Ratings


Starting XI: Krul (6); Aarons (4), Hanley (6), Godfrey (8), Lewis (5); Leitner (7), Trybull (6), Cantwell (8), Stiepermann (7), Buendia (6); Pukki (9).

Substitutes: Vrancic (6), McLean (6), Srbeny (6).

STAR PLAYER - Was it ever going to be anyone else?

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Teemu Pukki's fifth goal in the Premier League already has seen him move top of the goalscoring charts for the time being, but the Finland international's ability in front of goal is arguably just his second-best attribute.

Proficiency in the box can often ebb and flow depending on form, but Pukki has shown his movement is up there with some of European football's household names, constantly staying on the last shoulder of the defender and getting himself in goalscoring positions.

CHELSEA


Key Talking Point

Once again, Frank Lampard's side had spells in the match that showed how they could retain their place in the top six this season, with smart movement and passing routines causing Norwich a lot of problems in the final third.

Also once again, however, Chelsea's bright moments were too few and far between, often lacking any real cutting edge while also being undone by problems at the other end of the pitch.

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Some individual quality proved to be the difference come full-time to grant Chelsea their first win of the season, but fans will be desperate to start winning games with at least a modicum of control over the next few weeks.

Player Ratings


Starting XI: Kepa (6); Azpilicueta (7), Christiansen (6) Zouma (6), Emerson (6); Jorginho (6), Kovacic (6), Mount (8); Barkley (6), Abraham (8), Pulisic (7).

Substitutes: Giroud (6), Willian (6), Alonso (N/A).

STAR PLAYER - Tammy Abraham might have been the match-winner on Saturday, but where would Chelsea be without Mason Mount?

The 20-year-old is the heartbeat of Frank Lampard's side and he provided the spark for almost everything good at Carrow Road, just like he was in their first two games against Manchester United and Leicester City.

He took his goal like a seasoned pro in a frantic first half of football in Norfolk, but it was his intelligence off the ball which has really helped earmark him as one for the future, as well as giving him a fast-track ticket to the first-team in west London.

Looking Ahead

Norwich have a Carabao Cup second-round match on the road to Crawley before they return to Premier League action next week, where they'll face an out-of-form West Ham at London Stadium.

Emiliano Buendia,Mason Mount

Chelsea, meanwhile, are straight back to league football and will be hoping to string some form together when they welcome Sheffield United to Stamford Bridge.


Source : 90min