Steven Gerrard reacts to Tiemoue Bakayoko’s display in Chelsea’s 3-1 win at Huddersfield
The Liverpool legend heaps praise on Tiemoue Bakayoko for his role in Chelsea's opening goal
Steven Gerrard picked out Tiemoue Bakayoko for special praise after the midfielder’s performance in Chelsea’s 3-1 win at Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night.
Bakayoko managed to break past the Huddersfield defence to latch onto Willian’s through pass before he lifted his finish above Terriers goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
The 23-year-old striker was bundled across the line with help from Huddersfield defender Chris Lowe to prompt debate about whether Bakayoko should be credited with the goal.
While former Liverpool captain Gerrard felt Chelsea’s opener should go down as a Lowe own goal, the BT Sport pundit lavished praise on the Chelsea summer signing for his contribution to the opener.
“The keeper made an unforced error. Chelsea pounced on it,” Gerrard told BT Sport. “They did it with speed. It was a great Chelsea move. It was a great touch from Bakayoko.”
The France international was criticised following Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Premier League strugglers West Ham United in the London derby last weekend.
Antonio Conte withdrew Bakayoko at half-time for tactical reasons to prompt further criticism of the Chelsea summer signing.
The 23-year-old was signed in a £40m deal from Ligue 1 giants AS Monaco in the summer transfer window before defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic moved to Manchester United back in August.
Chelsea signed six players in the summer transfer window ahead of their return to the Champions League in 2017-18 season.
