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Chelsea to give Edouard Mendy late fitness test ahead of Sevilla clash after goalkeeper returns to training early

Edouard Mendy in action for Chelsea
Edouard Mendy in action for Chelsea

Frank Lampard will make a late check on Edouard Mendy ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League game against Sevilla on Tuesday night after the goalkeeper returned to training sooner than predicted.

Mendy had been expected to miss the Sevilla clash because of the thigh injury he suffered on international duty with Senegal that kept him out of the 3-3 draw against Southampton.

But Telegraph Sport can reveal that Mendy trained at Chelsea’s Cobham base on Sunday and Monday, leaving Lampard with a big decision to make over his team selection for Tuesday night.

Lampard must decide whether or not to risk throwing Mendy straight back into his team or deciding between Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was partly to blame for one of Southampton’s goals, and Willy Caballero.

Mendy kept a clean sheet on his Chelsea debut against Crystal Palace two weeks ago and Lampard alluded to the fact that poor goalkeeping has been the biggest issue in terms of his team’s defensive record since his appointment last summer.

Under Lampard, Chelsea have conceded 63 goals in 43 games at a rate of almost 1.5 goals a game, which is the worst of any of the club’s managers and head coaches.

Matt Law's Chelsea briefing
Matt Law's Chelsea briefing

But, twice ahead of the Sevilla game, Lampard argued that since he took over only Manchester City have faced fewer shots in the Premier League and the numbers back him up.

Since August last year, City have faced 320 shots (including blocks), compared to Chelsea’s 379 and Liverpool’s 386, which suggests Lampard’s Blues should have a much better record in terms of keeping out the opposition.

It also explains why Lampard was so keen to sign a new goalkeeper this summer, with Mendy arriving from another of Chelsea’s Champions League group stage opponents, Rennes, for £22 million.

Faced with his team’s defensive numbers, Lampard replied: “In terms of the goals conceded, yes I am aware of the stats. I don’t know if you were listening before, but the other stat is since we have been here, we have conceded the second least shots in the Premier League behind Man City, so sometimes it helps you to narrow down some of the issues.

“And the issues are that we don't concede too many shots on goal, but when we do we concede goals. It’s something we are aware of, we were aware of when you look at our recruitment.

“More important than that, we work everyday with the players on the pitch to make sure we set up well to not concede many chances, but the chances we do concede we let in too many (goals) and that is something we work on specifically.

“Of course, we want to concede less goals, as all teams do at the moment. There are teams that are conceding lots of goals in the Premier League, we are all in a similar position in that at the moment. It will always be something we work on as well as our attacking play.”

Kepa Arrizabalaga (centre) and Andreas Christensen (right) appear dejected - REUTERS
Kepa Arrizabalaga (centre) and Andreas Christensen (right) appear dejected - REUTERS

Lampard, who is expected to restore Thiago Silva to his defence against Sevilla, also bristled at the suggestion that he is an attack-minded manager and pointed to the fact last season finished late for Chelsea because of their Champions League last-16 defeat to Bayern Munich.

“First of all I wouldn't say my DNA is to be a natural attacking manager,” said Lampard. “Every manager wants to build a balanced team and one that can be strong in both defence and attack.

“We're working hard defensively and we're always trying to improve on that. The main thing, particularly for ourselves, is that there has been a lack of preparation which if you're working with new players or small changes, that takes time.

“We have to carry on working to get relationships around the pitch and get players fit, which has been an issue for us. Hopefully, that will keep improving now.”

Captain Cesar Azpilicueta had words of encouragement for his fellow Spaniard Kepa, but acknowledged the fact Chelsea cannot continue to concede such a high percentage of the shots they face.

“In football, we have difficult times,” said Azpilicueta. “In my position as captain, obviously I know him from a long time ago. I always try to help him.

“Sometimes you feel like everything goes against you. You have to have the character and personality to face it. I have no doubt Kepa will work hard to reverse the situation.

“What is clear is that if we want to fight for everything, we have to improve defensively. This is a problem we have to fix collectively and individually. Sometimes you can get away with it, but you cannot rely every game on having to score three goals.

“You have to dig in and get a clean sheet. It’s very important for the confidence of the team to have this solidity. We have to start getting this consistency of not conceding goals.”