A selection of Chelsea supporters have hailed the performance of midfielder Ross Barkley during the club’s 5-3 pre-season win over Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday evening.
The England international had been in impressive form coming into the game with goals in successive friendlies, and he continued the run by contributing a couple of sublime assists as well as converting a penalty.
Barkley’s first assist came through a sublime long ball for Christian Pulisic, who was able to get behind the Salzburg defence before scoring his second and the club’s third goal in a convincing first-half performance.
Following the break, the former Everton graduate continued to impress with his link-up play and his second assist came from a delightful pass from the left wing from which Pedro scored with an audacious backheel volley.
As such, a few fans were clearly delighted with the display from Barkley, who has impressed with his goalscoring contribution under the guidance of new head coach Frank Lampard. Here are some of the best tweets….
Barkley lacked the consistency in terms of the performances under Maurizio Sarri last term and this had drawn criticism from few supporters, who questioned whether the midfielder should remain with the club beyond the summer.
However, he has managed to prove himself during pre-season with three goals and three assists from just five games, and the recent display should offer him the edge over Mason Mount for the number 10 role when the real season begins.
Despite the positives, the Blues have been disappointing on the defensive front with just one clean sheet and they have conceded six goals in the past two friendlies alone. That is something Lampard needs to look upon ahead of his maiden managerial campaign in the Premier League.