Billy Gilmour: Young but tough

That evening at Stamford Bridge derailed Liverpool and at any moment, panic can show up, but for the Blues, it was something special. Frank Lampard’s young team impressed throughout the match and one 5 feet-and-6-inch young lad proved to be the vital cog in Lampard’s plan at the center of the park. Scotland's Billy Gilmour showed that he might be small in stature, has a boyish outlook, but in front of the defence, in that holding midfield region, he means business.

Gilmour moved to Chelsea as a 16-year-old in the summer of 2017 from Rangers and he is not the type to allow fame to go to his head. Football is his world – he does not mind spending extra-time in training, thinking and studying about the game to improve himself. A follower of Cesc Fabregas, Billy was waiting for his big moment to come and whenever the opportunity comes, he would grab them with both hands.

Jorginho had been suspended, N’Golo Kante is fighting through injuries while Kovacic is still recovering from an injury, Lampard had to invest faith in the young Scottish. He has that incident with big and strong Harry Macguire fresh in his mind – it was his Gilmour’s third appearance for Chelsea in the Carabao Cup tie against Manchester United. The bLues were defeated by 2-1 and Billy was intimidated by Harry, which hampered his focus. But against Liverpool, he would not let the same happen – the big boys of the Reds had a tough time against him.

He was not only that unbreakable wall but also dictated the game from the deep and advanced forward as well – the way he nutmegged Fabinho to move into the Liverpool penalty arena, hinted, how majestic he could be when needed. He owned Fabinho. He owned the rest of the Liverpool players. He was the Man of the Match.

Billy is just 18-year old and at this age, he completed 37 passes successfully with 77 percent accuracy. He won 5 tackles and 2 aerial duels. Created one chance to cleared two chances.

Positioning, vision, focus, and determination – Billy exhibited all of them at Stamford Bridge against the Champions of Europe. He possesses that personality, which is very much important to succeed at the top level as Fabregas said, “Personality is the most important at this age and he’s got it all right”. While Lampard said  Lampard said Gilmour had shown “real personality” on Chelsea’s pre-season trip to Ireland when he played against Bohemians and St Patrick’s Athletic.

Billy could be an asset for Chelsea and Scotland. The display against Liverpool should be a career-defining one and let us see how long he can carry on. Still, he has a long way to go. 

Note: This article has been published at Cricketsoccer on 06/03/2020 Billy Gilmour: Young but tough  

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Faisal Caesar