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The midfielder delivered an inspired assist to send Callum Hudson-Odoi away for the Blues’ opening goal against Rennes on Tuesday.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was delighted to see Mason Mount play a crucial role in qualifying his team for the Champions League knockout stage, with a performance he believes responds to many of the young midfielder’s detractors. .
The Blues secured passage to the knockout stages with two games to spare on Tuesday with a tense 2-1 away win over Rennes in Group E.
Callum Hudson-Odoi had fired his team to take the lead in the 22nd minute, only for the hosts to respond towards the end through Sehrou Guirassy.
But just when it seemed that Guirassy had earned a point from his side, Olivier Giroud emerged to score the decisive goal in injury time, leaving his team assured of qualification alongside Sevilla.
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Mount played a key role in Chelsea’s opener with an inspired long pass that prepared Hudson-Odoi for the opener, and Lampard backed his previous position at Derby County to continue to shine at Stamford Bridge.
“I am very happy. With Mason there has been a lot of talk and any negative talk should disappear,” explained the coach to BT sport after the final whistle.
“I’ve been fortunate to be closer to him and what he did in Derby last season has been outstanding.
“I’m not going to undermine the quality that he has and when we have two eighths, he has all the qualities. I think he can get more goals and assists. The pass to Callum Hudson Odoi was first class. You saw Kai. [Havertz] It also comes, we have to maintain that competition.
“I don’t actually speak to [Mount] too. We have a good relationship, not as close as some people think. He knows I’m here if he needs any guidance, but it’s the world of social media, in today’s world we all have opinions and we want different things from players.
“It should be just what I think, the players think and the true Chelsea fans think of him. The conversation must go on, there is nothing to do.”
Lampard added on Hudson-Odoi: “I’m happy. I knew he had a couple of good performances last week for [England] U21 and I know you want more minutes.
“He is not cut and dry, he is still developing and he recovered from a really bad injury.
“There are a lot of good things about Callum and things he can improve on, he’s a great player for Chelsea and he has a great future for Chelsea. His performance in all aspects was great tonight.”
