The 19-year-old showed a nice bit of opportunism, stealing in to the box to finish off Cesar Azpilicueta’s chipped ball, to net his side’s third and seal a comfortable win after a Jorginho penalty and Tammy Abraham header had given them a 2-0 half-time lead.
Hudson-Odoi has admitted struggling to recapture his impressive form from last season because of fears he will suffer a recurrence of the Achilles injury he suffered in April.
But having played something of a bit-part role so far, he carried on his goalscoring form from last weekend’s FA Cup third-round win over Nottingham Forest with another strike on Saturday.
“For Callum to score in the six-yard box is more exciting than him scoring from 30 yards without a doubt,” said Lampard of Hudson-Odoi, who signed a five-year contract in July.
“It means he is willing to get in there. It wasn’t the only time he did that. His overall performance was a statement of what he has to do.
“That was the real Callum. If he carries on like that we will have a real player.”
