Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has heaped praise on the impact of Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The Gabon international had gone into the final with a brace in two of his previous three appearances and he put up another instrumental display at the Wembley Stadium.
The Blues took an early lead through Christian Pulisic in the 5th minute and looked good value to double the advantage at one point. However, the Gunners grew into the game and Aubameyang scored the equaliser from the penalty spot after earning the spotkick.
In the second half, things appeared even between the teams before Aubameyang made the difference with his clever left-footed chip which beat Willy Caballero in goal in the 67th minute.
The Gunners had some good fortune with the surprise sending off of Mateo Kovacic, but overall, they had good control over the proceedings after a nervy 15 minutes at the beginning.
Speaking after the game, Lampard said that the Blues have no one to blame but themselves after the defeat. When asked about Aubameyang’s display, he added:
“He scored two goals, they have a threat behind you. We showed that a lot to the players, but we let him do that. He is a quality player.”
Aubameyang ended the campaign with 29 goals. His contract with the Gunners expires in 11 months’ time, but there is the anticipation that he could put pen-to-paper on a fresh deal after the FA Cup success over Chelsea.
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