FRANK LAMPARD welcomed his England stars back to Chelsea with a dressing down.
Three Lions rookie Reece James got a talking to for tarnishing his full debut with a sending off after the final whistle against Denmark.
James was sent-off after the final whistle on his full England debutCredit: AP:Associated Press
Abraham and Chilwell were both seen at a party of around 20 people
And Tammy Abraham and Ben Chilwell were reminded of their responsibilities after flouting coronavirus rules at the start of the international break.
Defender James, 20, won rave reviews for his performance in the 1-0 defeat at Wembley on Wednesday.
But he soured the night with a dismissal for dissent having confronted referee Jesus Gil Manzano at the end.
Chelsea boss Lampard, who won 106 caps for England, said: “I did have a word with him about what happened at the end and the fact he got involved with the referee.
“We are all human, I have been there, done it, did it as a player, maybe even as a manager – none of us are saints.
“It will definitely be one for him to learn from – that when you have a performance at that level, playing for your country, you will get a lot of plaudits, so there was no need for him to get involved with the referee after.
“It was a pretty simple conversation and something he will definitely take on board.
“Otherwise his performance was very good but I expected that, because I expect a lot from Reece.
“He showed it when he came on against Belgium, how comfortable he was – it looked like he had been playing for a long time. The performance was really good.”
Abraham and Chilwell, both 23, apologised for breaking social-distancing rules when they were caught at a birthday party prior to reporting for England.
Chelsea’s players are tested for Covid-19 twice a week and the club does their utmost to avoid cross-contamination.
Lampard, 42, said: “We’ve lived in this bubble for quite a long time now and have to make sure we stay on point.
“The players also have a responsibility, as do the public, to follow the rules that we are being told, albeit there isn’t always massive clarity in them but that’s not an excuse for the lads.
“They’ve made mistakes, I’ve reminded them of their responsibilities and from the conversation, they were innocent mistakes. We move on and I expect it won’t happen again.”
Lampard has given the trio a dressing down on their return to ChelseaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Chilwell returns to action after withdrawing from England duty with illness.
Lampard at last has 27-year-old winger Hakim Ziyech fit to make his Premier League debut following a troublesome knee injury picked up in a pre-season friendly at Brighton.
New £24million keeper Edouard Mendy is out, though, with a thigh problem.
Lampard will leave it late to decide whether to replace him with Kepa Arrizabalaga or Willy Caballero.
The £36.7m Ziyech was the Blues’ first acquisition of this year’s spending spree but is the final piece to fit into place.
Lamps added: “It feels like a long time since we brought Hakim here.
“He hasn’t played a competitive game since the Dutch league finished during lockdown.
“I’m excited to get him in and to bring what we brought him to the club for, which is to create chances and be the talented player he is and we saw at Ajax.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
