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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lee Wilmot

Chelsea news: Frank Lampard's improvements, three surprises in Champions League squad

Frank Lampard is sure to be a busy man in the next two weeks.

The players may be off on international break with their countries, but the Blues boss will remain at home and pore over a number of issues that need sorting.

An indifferent start to the season will give the Blues legend much to ponder in the coming days, but the realisation that the Champions League is just around the corner will hit him too.

Here we round up the biggest stories doing the rounds at Chelsea in the past 24 hours.

Champions League squad

Chelsea are back in Europe's elite competition this season.

After a year in the Europa League, which proved fruitful, with the Blues winning the trophy in Baku, Azerbaijan last season, beating Arsenal in the final, Frank Lampard will guide his team in the Champions League this time around.

The Champions League trophy on show ahead of the 2019 final between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Lampard has huge experience of the competition as a player and won it in 2012, but it will be his first year in the elite tournament from a manager's perspective.

And we now know the players that he will have at his disposal, after their squad was revealed.

And it contained some surprises.

Read all about it here.

Improvements to be made

Chelsea have had a mixed start to the 2019/20 campaign as they have clinched just five points from four Premier League matches so far.

Even though they were impressive for much of the Super Cup against Liverpool, they ended up losing on penalties and the chance to win silverware ebbed away.

(Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Now we are in the middle of an international break, with several players featuring for their countries and others getting some rest ahead of a busy schedule.

But there have been plenty of positives. And it is those that Frank Lampard will want to draw on when the players return next week.

Here we look at the signs that suggest improvements are just around the corner.

Selection dilemma

Frank Lampard has a number of decisions to make.

Certain players are expected back in action after the international break.

Antonio Rudiger wins the ball in the air against Spurs (Clive Howes - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

And that in itself is enough to hand the boss a selection headache.

But there is one young player who has also staked his claim for a regular place in the starting lineup.

Find out who here.

Twitter statement

Chelsea stars Tammy Abraham and Kurt Zouma have both been the subject of vile racist online abuse this season and it's an issue that has been particularly intense at the start of the 2019/20 season, with Manchester United stars Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford also receiving racism on Twitter in the past month.

There has been an outcry from footballers, the media and supporters for Twitter and other social media companies to do more to safeguard its consumers against racist abuse.

And Twitter have now responded.

Find out what they had to say on the matter here.

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