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A Willian penalty has once again helped seal a game for Chelsea.
The Brazilian ensured his perfect penalty record in England stayed in tact on Saturday evening, his finish sandwiched between an earlier Olivier Giroud effort and an injury-time Ross Barkley strike as Chelsea overcame relegation-threatened Watford.
Chelsea’s number ten is one of an abundance of Premier League players who find themselves out of contract at the end of the season.
However, earlier in the weekend his manager Frank Lampard assured: “I haven’t given up hope on it,” as contract negotiations rumble on between Willian and the club.
The former Chelsea midfielder added: ‘‘The club are still in discussions with him. We want him to stay but I also appreciate the fact this contract for Willian is a big deal because of his age. I have been there before myself, but the way he is playing at the moment shows his worth to the squad and I hope it is something we can get to.’’
Despite the potential changes off the pitch, Willian’s form continue to excite Chelsea fans on it. The winger created chances from all over the pitch against the Hornets, also ensuring Ben Foster never had a moment’s respite by firing in five shots at the Watford goal over the course of the match.
After the impressive Christian Pulisic was clumsily fouled by Etienne Capoue just before half time at Stamford Bridge, Willian stepped up to score his fifth penalty for Chelsea this season.
For the third Premier League match in a row, the winger found the perfect height to comfortably beat the ‘keeper and prevailed from the spot to double his team’s lead.
The Brazilian continued his impressive record of never missing a penalty for the London side.
In fact, he has now scored every time he was in that position since the 31st of October 2012.
His only career miss from the spot came earlier in that month when the then Shakhtar Donetsk talisman was in charge of duties from the spot against Metalist Kharkiv.
He built momentum with a speedy run up and fired the shot towards the right corner, the Metalist goalkeeper stretching well to deny the forward.
At 31 years of age, a contract extension can be an interesting matter, nevertheless, Willian is only proving to give the positives of his age.
The former Shakhtar man offers leadership, experience, composure, efficiency and is enjoy his best goalscoring Premier League campaign in a Chelsea shirt.
Willian has had an interesting relationship with the Stamford Bridge supporters, despite being an incredible tool to past managers such as Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
Some fans, who would normally pack the currently empty seats in SW6, favour the younger talent that the club is producing such as Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Despite many successful years at Chelsea, Willian did not see eye to eye with Italian boss Conte, posting a picture on social media of the Chelsea players celebrating the FA Cup triumph in 2018, while covering the manager with trophy emojis.
The player had said that it was his daughter that played with his phone, a story that was not an easy one to believe unless his young daughter also had views over the Brazilian’s playing-time that season.
Willian’s post after FA Cup victory in 2018 displayed his fractious relationship with Conte willianborges88/Instagram
Now in the Lampard era, Chelsea’s second top-scorer this season has excelled in 2020 by netting six of his nine league goals since the turn of the year. Taking into consideration Tammy Abraham’s barren spell during this period, the English forward has only scored once in 2020, and Willian’s importance to Chelsea is highlighted once more.
Granted, Pulisic has contributed to the cause, but the former Dortmund winger had not scored a goal during eight Premier League matches before the enforced break.
The two-time Premier League champion’s penalties have come at vital times too. Most recently, despite the loss, he gave his side the lead for the first time with a 42nd minute penalty against West Ham on Wednesday night, not to mention his brilliant free-kick to make it 2-2 later in the game.
He stepped up against Manchester City to seal a win for Chelsea and secure the league title for Liverpool, more importantly for the Blues closing the gap to Leicester to one point.
Also just before Christmas, he netted twice away to rivals Spurs, the second being another flawless finish from the spot to seal a derby win before half-time had even arrived.
Additionally, Willian has created the second most amount of goals this campaign for Lampard’s men with five assists, just behind Cesar Azpilicueta’s six.
Willian is so much more than just a club veteran. He is flourishing since the restart with four goals in as many games having taken over the number ten shirt following Eden Hazard’s high-profile departure last summer.
With the exciting additions of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech soon to arrive in west London, it’s an exciting time to be a Chelsea fan. Having been at the club for seven years, Willian will be sure to want to be a part of Lampard’s plans for the future.
The contract situation is sure to continue to swirl above the Brazilian’s head but his contributions on the pitch are currently talking for him, the winger’s penalties continuing to creep Chelsea ever closer to Champions League qualification.
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