Frank Lampard praised Lewis Hall following Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad, highlighting the 18-year-old’s ‘levels’ and ‘quality’ to make it at Stamford Bridge. Hall had started for the second match in a row and impressed with his composure on the ball. Julian Alvarez scored in the 12th minute to seal the victory for City, but Hall had a chance to equalise when he clipped a good ball to the back post, only for Conor Gallagher to see his header saved by Stefan Ortega. With Ben Chilwell unavailable, Hall has made nine appearances this term and Lampard believes he could become a vital player under Mauricio Pochettino, who is set to sign a three-year deal to replace Lampard as interim boss.
Lampard said of Hall: ‘I know he played well at City earlier in the year and I think against Mahrez, one of the best wingers in the league, one v one, he joined in. He gets his chance at the top end of the pitch. We certainly rate him. Joe and Andy, who work with me, have a better understanding of him as a lad and all those things are important as well. He’s a quiet lad, the first thing that I’ve seen, he definitely needs to come out of himself a little bit more. I’m not asking him to change his personality but in footballing terms to effect people around him. In terms of quality on the ball, that’s really clear. In terms of quality, if you see him with the ball and the things he can do, he’s got the levels, he’s obviously got to add to that as he goes along. Another academy one that we’ve produced and it will be good to see him in regular games at this level to be tested more but he’s shown he can do that.’