Chelsea’s £89m summer signing Kai Havertz may have stolen the show with a hat-trick in Wednesday’s 6-0 Carabao Cup victory over Barnsley, but boss Frank Lampard has also lauded Thiago Silva’s ‘perfect 60 minutes’ on his Blues debut.
Former PSG captain Silva moved to west London on a free from Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer as part of Lampard’s £230million overhaul of his squad.
And the 36-year-old gave a masterful defensive display on his first outing against Championship side Barnsley, leaving Lampard singing his praises.
‘It was a perfect 60 minutes for him,’ said Lampard of Silva’s Chelsea debut.
‘He will show the qualities he has. Of course, he will get fitter and better.
‘He also gave us something, for me on the night, in the dressing room and on the pitch, of a leader with authority of his demands on others.
‘He can’t even speak the language at the minute but that’s not even a problem because his presence and the way he commands people around him is already showing that to me in training and in our game.’
Lampard added: ‘I am very pleased with Thiago. It is what I expected of a player of his level but it is very refreshing to have him here at the club.’
Germany international Havertz bagged a hat-trick to get off the mark for his new club while Tammy Abraham, Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud also found the net at Stamford Bridge.
Forward Callum Hudson-Odoi also grabbed a rare Chelsea start on Wednesday, and left Lampard impressed.
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