Lampard impressed with Christian Pulisic’s brace against RB Salzburg

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has admitted that he has been impressed with the performance of Christian Pulisic against Red Bull Salzburg. The USA international scored his first non-competitive goals for the club during the 5-3 friendly win over the Austrian champions and he was also able to win a penalty, which was converted by Ross Barkley.

Speaking after the game, Lampard spoke positively about the forward’s performance but stated that there is room for improvement with the greater demands of the Premier League, he said: "I was very impressed with the way that he took the goals. As a winger in the Premier League, he has to adapt to that league. He is young but with huge potential and I am happy for him."

Meanwhile, the Blues have been struggling on the defensive front during pre-season and they have conceded six goals during the recent meetings against Reading and Salzburg alone. When pressed on the issue, Lampard acknowledged that he would prefer regular shutouts and the defensive performance needs to be improved before the new season, he said: “We want to concede zero goals, so it is a concern and we want to improve on it. We will talk about it. We can't afford to make those mistakes."

Lampard has preferred to regularly utilise some of the young graduates during the pre-season campaign and Mason Mount has been one of those, who has impressed. The England youth international has bagged three goals from the five matches played and he should be rewarded with a Blues debut when the Premier League season begins in less than two weeks’ time.

Meanwhile, there have been several senior players that have also caught the eye and Ross Barkley has stood out with three goals and three assists. The playmaker has been able to express himself under the guidance of Lampard and it remains to be seen whether he can replicate the feat when the real business begins.