Abraham shrugs off Chelsea’s No 9 curse

Tammy Abraham pulled on the Chelsea No 9 shirt, scored his first senior goal for the club, then promised he was not afraid of the curse of the striker’s jersey.

The England Under-21 star led the line for almost an hour as Frank Lampard’s team beat Barcelona 2-1 in Japan. He opened the scoring and might have scored another before Ross Barkley converted the second. Ivan Rakitic pulled one back to reduce the deficit in stoppage time.

“I’m honoured to wear the No 9 at Chelsea,” said 21-year-old Abraham. “I spoke to the manager and he asked me if I was ready to take it. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready’. 

“I’m glad he offered it to me. I’ve heard all the rubbish about the No 9, but I’m here to play my game and do my best.”

“Football brings a lot of pressure. It drives me on. It gives me extra belief. It was my first goal in a Chelsea shirt and now that’s out of the way it will be nice to push on and score some more.”

The shirt has weighed down some famous strikers who arrived at Stamford Bridge with big reputations.

Alvaro Morata, Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao and Gonzalo Higuain could not thrive with the number on their back, but that does not deter Abraham.

He is confident, ambitious and has the unwavering support of his manager after scoring 26 on loan at Aston Villa last season.

“Tammy is hungry for goals,” said Lampard. “I like his attitude. He always wants to score. I saw it in the Championship last year. He’s proved that and now it is his time to prove it for Chelsea.”

“Goalscorers need confidence, so to get his goal will put him in good stead.”

Olivier Giroud came on to replace Abraham in the second half and Michy Batshauyi also appeared off the bench.

“It’s vital for them to show they can be the lead striker for Chelsea,” added Lampard. “I have full confidence in them.”

Mason Mount started for the third time in four pre-season friendlies, deployed as the playmaker behind the centre forward in a 4-2-3-1.

Once again, Mount impressed with his vision and linked up nicely with Abraham. The pair know each other well, coming through the ranks together.

“Mason has had a great trip,” said Lampard, who seems prepared to back the 20-year-old in the role over Ross Barkley. “With the energy, brightness and quality he has shown, he has been great within the group, so he has really announced himself for the first-team squad.”

The Chelsea manager also shared his reasons for sending N’Golo Kante home from the tour on Sunday to continue rehabilitation on his knee injury. He hopes he can still be ready for the first game of the Premier League season at Manchester United, two weeks on Sunday.

“I felt it was more beneficial for him to be back at Cobham,” said Lampard. “It’s not a big step backwards. We are hopeful for getting him back towards the weekend and he will soon be in a position to join in with us.”