Chelsea put in an emphatic performance to secure victory against Rennes Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge, which was yet another sign of how the team is progressing.
Frank Lampard’s side beat French side Rennes 3-0 in the Champions League group stages and have now earned seven points from three games as they look to reach the knockout rounds of Europe’s elite club competition.
Timo Werner scored with two first-half penalties and Tammy Abraham added a third shortly after the break, but the contest was made much easier by Dalbert’s red card in the 40th minute.
The Blues once again looked impressive in attack and may be disappointed they didn’t score more, but it was yet another defensive shutout and the backline looks unrecognisable right now.
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has now got a remarkable statistic of six clean sheets in his opening seven appearances for the club, making his summer signing look like an inspired bit of business.
The 28-year-old enjoyed a fairly quiet evening against his former club Rennes, but showed all the signs of a top goalkeeper by springing into action late on with an excellent save from point-blank range to preserve a clean sheet.
Pundit Rio Ferdinand was left massively impressed by Mendy’s display in net for Chelsea and believes he’s had a massive influence on the team.
“What I saw today was a very composed, commanding goalkeeper. Thiago Silva was excellent in front of him, but it’s so refreshing to see from a Chelsea perspective a goalkeeper you can look behind and go ‘you know what he knows what he’s doing’. He talks, he’s loud and he’s aggressive with that. But he’s also very composed,” Ferdinand told BT Sport 2 (9:55pm, 4 November).
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