Frank Lampard defends 'fantastic' Thiago Silva, lauds Callum Hudson-Odoi impact but demands Chelsea cut out 'clear mistakes'

Blues battle back from 0-3 down at promoted West Brom to earn a late draw

Chelsea's Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring their third goal with Mason Mount against West Brom on Saturday. Reuters

Chelsea's Tammy Abraham scores the equaliser against West Brom. Reuters

Tammy Abraham of Chelsea celebrates with teammate Callum Hudson-Odoi after scoring his sides third goal against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. Getty

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard at the Hawthorns. AP

West Brom's Callum Robinson, left, vies with Chelsea's Timo Werner. AFP

Chelsea's Mason Mount scores his team's first goal. Reuters

Grady Diangana of West Bromwich Albion runs with the ball. Getty

West Bromwich Albion's Kyle Bartley celebrates scoring their third goal against Chelsea at the Hawthorns. AP

Chelsea's Mason Mount, right, celebrates scoring with Cesar Azpilicueta. PA

Chelsea's Mason Mount, right, shoots to score their first goal. AFP

Kyle Bartley of West Bromwich, left, scores his team's third goal. EPA

Chelsea's Thiago Silva Pool on Saturday. Reuters

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard leapt to the defence of Thiago Silva and lauded the impact of Callum Hudson-Odoi, while urging his team to cut out the mistakes after the comeback 3-3 draw at West Brom.

Chelsea found themselves 0-3 down after 27 minutes against the newly-promoted West Brom, Callum Robinson scoring the first two goals after individual errors from Marcos Alonso and Silva. Kyle Bartley added the third after some poor marking by Alonso from a corner.

The Blues started their fightback 10 minutes into the second half when Mason Mount lashed home a long range effort, before substitute Hudson-Odoi finished off a fine move.

Tammy Abraham rescued a point for the visitors in the last minute of added time, tapping into an empty net after West Brom keeper Sam Johnstone parried Mount's low shot into the striker's path.

Chelsea dominated in every statistical department, enjoying 76 per cent possession and producing 22 shots with 10 on target. West Brom, meanwhile, scored with all three of their shots on target - all created from Chelsea errors.

While managing to avoid defeat, Lampard admitted he is viewing the result as two points dropped instead of one point gained.

"There were clear mistakes that led to their goals, which in a game like this in the Premier League always makes life difficult,’ Lampard said.

"It’s not a tactical moment, it’s a turnover in possession which we spoke about before in the sense that West Brom would approach the game waiting for transitions but when moments like that happen on the pitch, you can get punished and we were with a three-goal mountain to climb.

"The lads did show great character to overcome that but at the same time it’s not a position when you come somewhere where the team are organised and want to make it difficult for you and we gave them three goals so I’m left with mixed emotions.

"I was happy to see my team fight to the last minute to get the goals back but I have to go back to beginning and not be happy with the fact that we conceded three goals from three shots on target."

There was plenty of focus on Brazilian defender Silva in the immediate build-up to the game, particularly after he was handed the captain's armband on his Premier League debut.

Signed on a free transfer to bring some experience and leadership to the Chelsea defence, the former Paris Saint-Germain skipper had a debut to forget after his miss control led directly to Robinson's second goal.

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West Brom v Chelsea player ratings

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Despite his mistake, Lampard insisted Silva will prove to be a valuable asset to his team over the course of the season.

"Thiago Silva is going to be fantastic for us. He’s been incredible in his career and I will not put any blame on him," Lampard said.

"We’re a team, we have to react around that and the team did in the second half but it’s nothing on him. I’m sure he’ll stand up and say it was a mistake but other than that I thought he was pretty faultless in the game and that’s his first Premier League game in the bank so we’ll get a lot more from him."

One player who did impress was Hudson-Odoi. Introduced at the start of the second half, the 19-year-old winger was instrumental in Chelsea's comeback, scoring the second goal and causing plenty of problems on the left flank.

Viewed as a special talent, not only by Chelsea but other big European clubs - including Bayern Munich who made numerous attempts to sign him last summer - Hudson-Odoi's progress was held back last season due to injury and he has had to be patient for his opportunities.

"Callum gave us everything that I wanted. He gets his goal from giving us something different and that’s what he needs to do because that’s the impact he can have for us," Lampard said.

"It has to be consistent but he’s given himself a great platform to continue in that vein because he’ll be very important for us if he does."

Chelsea are next in action against Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the League Cup on Tuesday. Their next Premier League fixture is at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.