Callum Hudson-Odoi produced something on Saturday not seen at Stamford Bridge in seven years.
In his 92 minutes on the pitch, shortly before he was substituted to a rapturous reception, the winger created five goalscoring chances for the home side.
It made him the first teenager to create as many chances in a Premier League match for Chelsea since Romelu Lukaku in May 2012, when the Blues battled to a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
READ | Alonso fires Lampard's men to laboured victory
Hudson-Odoi was 11 at the time, four years short of his debut for the Under-18s, which highlights the impressive rise to prominence of a young player who is fast becoming the real star of Frank Lampard's Chelsea.
He missed the first six league games of the season as he worked his way back from a serious Achilles tendon injury. Chelsea won just two of those games, against Norwich City and Wolves.
In its three matches since, it has taken nine points, and Hudson-Odoi has provided three assists, the most recent a cushioned pass that allowed Marcos Alonso finally to find a way past the excellent Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. That made him the second youngest player in Premier League history – after Michael Owen – to set up goals in three successive games.
Lampard has won plaudits for a commitment to Chelsea's young English talent - even if his hand has been forced by the club's transfer ban - and Saturday's defeat of Newcastle saw the side start five English players in a league game for the first time since February 2013. All of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley and Fikayo Tomori have repaid their boss' faith with performances that have helped Chelsea climb to third in the table since that opening-day 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.
It was Hudson-Odoi who stood out above the rest, though. Every touch near the packed Newcastle penalty area was assured, every pass intelligent and forward-thinking and, 80 per cent of the time, right on the mark. After they had been thwarted and frustrated for so long by Steve Bruce's men, Hudson-Odoi maintained composure to tee up Alonso for the breakthrough.
Chelsea is on a five-game winning run in all competitions and Hudson-Odoi has either scored or assisted a goal in each of them. Little wonder Chelsea fans were so relieved to see his proposed switch to Bayern Munich fall through at the beginning of this year. Lampard is cultivating a young, vibrant side and Hudson-Odoi is its undisputed creative heartbeat.
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