Mason Mount said Chelsea now have the set-piece threat they lacked last season after two big chances from corner kicks in the 3-0 win over Burnley.
Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner bagged a goal apiece from typical finishes from two proven goalscorers.
Kurt Zouma’s bullet header, however, put him among Chelsea’s top scorers in the Premier League this season alongside Werner and Jorginho (three goals each).
The timing of the goal was really important for the Blues since, at the time, they only had a one-goal lead and Burnley looked they were close to an equaliser — and Zouma’s goal practically killed the game.
Mount, who made the assist for Zouma’s goal, emphasised the importance of improving their attacking set-piece outputs.
He told Chelsea’s official website: “The gaffer said at half-time at 1-0 it’s never done. They put some pressure on us early in the second half.
“We knew it was going to come, we had to weather it and then getting that second goal from big Zou winning headers.
“We need that set-piece threat, we didn’t really have it last season, and we have scored quite a few already this season. It’s something we can continue to improve on.”
Mount could’ve had another assist from a corner kick but Thiago Silva’s header went straight to Nick Pope’s arms.
Almost twice as threatening in attacking set-piece situations
But overall, the England international is right — Chelsea have been more dangerous with their set-pieces.
To be fair, Chelsea’s record of 11 set-piece goals last season wasn’t that bad. It was still a better record compared to Manchester United and Tottenham (eight set-piece goals each), for example — but was still way off the likes of Liverpool’s and Manchester City’s 17 set-piece goals last term.
This season, Chelsea ranked third in terms of goals from set-piece situations (four from nine games), just behind Aston Villa (five) and Everton (six).
The average of 0.44 set-piece goal per game this season so far is almost double last season’s 0.28.