Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea in action against Hull during the FA Cup fourth round. Getty
Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea in action against Hull during the FA Cup fourth round. Getty
Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea in action against Hull during the FA Cup fourth round. Getty
Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea in action against Hull during the FA Cup fourth round. Getty

Frank Lampard backs Michy Batshuayi to solve Chelsea injury troubles


  • English
  • Arabic

Frank Lampard hopes Michy Batshuayi will fill the injured Tammy Abraham's boots after the striker put Chelsea on course for a 2-1 victory at Hull in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The Belgium international fired a shot that deflected past Hull goalkeeper George Long as the home fans' hopes of an FA Cup upset took a sixth-minute knock.

Blues boss Lampard said Batshuayi's goal underlined the dangers of an overreliance on Abraham and spoke of his desire to see the 26-year-old thrive in his absence.

"He got his goal so I'm pleased as it'll help his confidence," Lampard said. "I've said it all season, we can't just rely on Tammy. I want him firing, I've said all season that he can do this, so I just want to see him putting home goals.

"I want to see to him performing, at this level you're judged on scoring goals and I know he can do that so it's good to see it. He's an out and out striker, an international striker."

Despite a comfortable victory, with Fikayo Tomori converting a 64th-minute free-kick into a headed second goal, Lampard felt his squad did not fully capitalise on their opportunities.

"You don't expect it to be easy when you come here," he said. "Hull probably weren't at it in the first half and we had chances to score that we didn't take, but Hull then came back in the second half and made it very hard for us.

"I don't know how many shots we had but we had good chances and we weren't taking them and that's frustrating.

"We gave them opportunities in those moments, it's part of the process I suppose, we didn't lose today and we're through so its par for the course.

"I don't want to jump forward further than this round as we don't know even know who we're playing next. All respect for what Hull did against us today but I'm not delighted with how we played.

"But these games are hard, sometimes you scrape through, sometimes you don't go through when you deserve to."

Hull manager Grant McCann was troubled by the way his squad lapsed after starting both halves of the game well.

"I'm disappointed to concede so early," he said. "That goal we conceded, we just switched off, so it was frustrating. I thought we started well but we settled down and Chelsea took over.

"We tried the stay on the front foot but we're up against a top-four team, it's easy to say we should have pressed and pushed them.

"On another day we could have put away one of those chances and maybe it would have been different."

McCann took heart from the way the team battled back to produce a goal when trailing, with Kamil Grosicki netting in the 78th minute.

"I was pleased with the response they produced and I was pleased with some individual performances," he said.

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
While you're here
Getting there

The flights

Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.

The stay

Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net 

Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama

Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com

Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

The specs

Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 849Nm

Range: 456km

Price: from Dh437,900 

On sale: now