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Mason Mount sent Chelsea into next season\u2019s Champions League with a sumptuous free-kick and an assist for Olivier Giroud in the Blues\u2019 2-0 Premier League win over Wolves.<\/p>\nMason Mount sent Chelsea into next season\u2019s Champions League with a sumptuous free-kick and an assist for Olivier Giroud in the Blues\u2019 2-0 Premier League win over Wolves.<\/p>\n
Mount\u2019s inch-perfect dead-ball strike put Chelsea ahead in first-half stoppage time, before the 21-year-old teed up Giroud for a fine finish less than three minutes later.<\/p>\n
Those two goals sealed Chelsea a fourth-placed finish in Frank Lampard\u2019s maiden campaign at the Stamford Bridge helm.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old Giroud became the oldest man to score in five consecutive Premier League starts, swiping that record from Leicester\u2019s Jamie Vardy.<\/p>\n
Wolves\u2019 defeat meant the Molineux men failed to finish sixth, with Tottenham sneaking ahead of them instead with their draw at Crystal Palace.<\/p>\n
England midfielder Mount proved his huge value to Lampard\u2019s Chelsea yet again, toasting his 51st appearance of the season with a man-of-the-match turn.<\/p>\n
Mount has become Chelsea\u2019s first academy graduate to make more than 50 appearances in all competitions in his debut senior campaign at the club.<\/p>\n
The versatile creative talent left his most important league contribution to last, however, as the west Londoners finally rubber-stamped Champions League qualification.<\/p>\n
Back in November, Mount posted a social media video of his younger self scoring a free-kick in Chelsea academy training, and talking through his dead-ball style.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to base my free-kick on Ronaldo, hit the ball by the valve, and it moves; that\u2019s all you do, top corner,\u201d said the fresh-faced Mount in that throwback clip.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all Mount did with his free-kick against Wolves on Sunday. But even though the richly-talented midfielder has been making dead-eye dead ball finishes look easy all his life, his virtuoso performance here carries major repercussions for the Blues.<\/p>\n
Timo Werner was on hand to watch his new team-mates seal that Champions League berth for next term, and the Germany striker will now be even more excited about what is in store after his \u00a354million RB Leipzig switch.<\/p>\n
Champions League qualification will doubtless boost Chelsea\u2019s pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen\u2019s Kai Havertz, and the further recruits that the Blues will certainly chase this summer.<\/p>\n
Lampard\u2019s bold move to drop Kepa Arrizabalaga for veteran Willy Caballero not only paid off as the Blues pulled off a clean sheet \u2013 but could also offer another sign of Chelsea\u2019s intent to seek a new goalkeeper this summer.<\/p>\n
Caballero performed adeptly as the Blues hit back from their 5-3 midweek humbling at Liverpool to shut out Wolves.<\/p>\n
But at the age of 38 he is obviously not Chelsea\u2019s long-term option, and Lampard is not hiding his dissatisfaction with Kepa\u2019s form.<\/p>\n
For the day itself Caballero fitted the bill however, and could now well retain his place for the FA Cup final against Arsenal.<\/p>\n
At the death of a gritty first-half devoid of gilt-edged chances for either side, the Blues took control.<\/p>\n
First Mount stepped up and whipped home a fine free-kick, then he played in Giroud for the Frenchman\u2019s astute finish.<\/p>\n
Not only did Giroud clip the ball away from Rui Patricio, the in-form hitman then hustled around Wolves skipper Conor Coady to angle home on the slide.<\/p>\n