Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has revealed he spoke with Mason Mount about his shooting style before the midfielder’s crucial goal in yesterday’s 3-1 win over Manchester United.
The Blues beat the Red Devils in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley to set up a final clash with Arsenal next month, and Mount’s strike in the second half was an important one as it made it 2-0 to Frank Lampard’s side and gave Man Utd a mountain to climb.
David de Gea did not cover himself with glory in United’s defeat, but Lampard insisted afterwards that he did not specifically tell his players to target the Spanish goalkeeper, despite his unconvincing recent form.
Lampard did say, however, that he told Mount to change his shooting style, instructing him to try striking through the ball more, which the 21-year-old did when he beat De Gea, even if the United ‘keeper should have dealt with it better.
“I know people will always hone in on goalkeepers when they make those errors because they’re critical of them,” Lampard said, as quoted by the Metro. “But all I did say to Mason [Mount] at half-time is that I want to see him strike through balls more.
“He had a shot in the first-half he tried to whip or bend it, and for me when you’re outside the box against top keepers, and De Gea is a top keeper, you have to strike through them.
“Of course he didn’t catch it brilliantly and it goes in, probably down as a mistake but it’s more that my job is to worry about my players.
“With Mason I just wanted him to shoot more. Fortunately three minutes after I said it, he did score.”