Chelsea
head coach Frank Lampard insisted Mason Mount started at Manchester United
"on absolute merit" following criticism from Jose Mourinho on Sunday.
New Sky Sports pundit Mourinho questioned Lampard's decision to start the
inexperienced Mount and Tammy Abraham at Old Trafford after Chelsea lost
their Premier League opener 4-0.
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta said Abraham and Mount deserved to be in
the side, with the latter making his Premier League bow in what was also
Lampard's first match as manager in the top-flight.
And speaking ahead of Chelsea's Super Cup match against Liverpool in
Istanbul on Wednesday, Lampard said 20-year-old Mount started on merit,
adding he has "no fears" to field young players.
"With regards to the squad and picking experienced or inexperienced teams, I
completely pick the best team to win the game regardless of age," said
Lampard. "It's very important to have a competitive team.
"If young players have shown what they can do in training, and deserve their
chance, for example Mason Mount deserves his chance completely on absolute
merit as opposed to age, I will have no fears to play young players because
it's important for a club like Chelsea that we do that.
"They need to deserve their chance. In terms of how we set-up as a team, I
liked our aggressive off-the-ball work against United, we won the ball back
a lot, and it was more that we didn't finish off our opportunities that we
got from that that lost us the game.
"We have to be adaptable, respect the strengths of the opponent, and
Liverpool is a different challenge than United. It doesn't mean we are
prepared to concede ground or defend our own box, but there may be subtle
changes in how we approach.
"The main thing that has to stay is the intensity of our work-rate to win
the ball back."
Meanwhile, N'Golo Kante was only deemed fit enough to come off the bench on
Sunday, and Lampard revealed the midfielder will need to be assessed before
Wednesday's match after picking up another knock against United.
"The selection of Kante on the bench was purely because he's had an injury
in pre-season and missed a big part, so he wasn't ready for the game,"
Lampard added.
"I'm very aware of how important he is for us as a player. He also picked up
another small injury in the game, which is a danger if you try and bring
players in, so we are assessing that.
Willian and Antonio Rudiger have also travelled with the squad to Istanbul,
but Lampard confirmed the duo will be on the bench.
Chelsea go on to face Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday - live on
Sky Sports - following their return from the Super Cup.
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