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The Blues defender believes a much stronger defensive performance was vital after poor recent showings in the Premier League
Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell says his side’s clean sheet in the stalemate with Sevilla in the Champions League was “important” in the wake of a 3-3 draw with Southampton.
Frank Lampard’s side let leads slip twice against the Saints at the weekend as the Blues’ defensive struggles continued.
In the Premier League this season, Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet from five matches but they added another to their overall tally in Europe on Tuesday night against Sevilla.
Despite boasting slightly less possession against their La Liga opponents, Edouard Mendy was rarely threatened in the Blues’ goal as they held out for a 0-0 draw.
Though an underwhelming start to their Champions League campaign, Chilwell believes the clean sheet itself was vital and the draw a solid result to build on.
“The important thing is the clean sheet. We knew people would be looking at us after conceding three goals at the weekend. We were solid defensively against a good team and didn’t give them many chances so we’ll take a draw and a clean sheet,” Chilwell told BT Sport post-match.
“In general as a team it was, I won’t say comfortable because we were under pressure at times, but we were organised as a team. I thought defensively we were very good.
“We are a top team and when you’re playing for Chelsea you expect clean sheets and if you concede goals you will get criticism. We’ve been working hard on the training pitch and we’ve showed that we’re a strong outfit defensively.
“It was disappointing to have no fans but as a team the motivation was there regardless of that, especially for people like me who are new to it all.”
After conceding an injury-time equaliser against Southampton, Lampard was delighted to see his side maintain their defensive composure across the full 90 minutes.
“It feels good to get the clean sheet, it’s something you always strive for,” Lampard told BT Sport. “Thiago Silva was excellent, he has experience and quality. Edouard Mendy had one save to make and he made a good save, he was good with his feet. Against a good team, it was a very organised performance from us.
“Both teams seemed happy with the point I think. We conceded a goal in the last minute the other day so when you have that feeling fresh in your mind it’s not nice. So this game will give us confidence but we haven’t had the personnel in training regularly and the more we have that the better we will get.”
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