Abraham retaining belief despite UEFA Super Cup penalty miss

Tammy Abraham has no plans to give up taking penalties despite his miss for Chelsea in their UEFA Super Cup defeat to Liverpool.

The 21-year-old missed the only penalty in the shoot-out as Frank Lampard’s men were edged 5-4 by Liverpool after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul on Wednesday.

But Abraham, who scored 26 goals for Aston Villa in the Championship last season, said he always had belief in his spot-kicks.

“I’ve scored a few. Unfortunately I missed one of the most important ones for Chelsea,” he told UK newspapers.

“They say the top players always miss penalties and it’s about how you react. I’ve just got to keep pushing myself.

“I’m always someone who believes in myself in penalties. I had a few last season and a few important ones. Unfortunately this was probably one of my most important ones I missed.

“It’s about how I react and just get my head up. The boys have made it feel like nothing has even happened. It’s a great bunch of boys now we’ve just got to focus on the game against Leicester [City].”

‘With that mentality, work ethic, and desire to play for this club – I’m a happy man.’

Listen to what the boss had to say after yesterday’s game… pic.twitter.com/zXTdq9pIoP

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 15, 2019

Despite the defeat, Chelsea’s performance against Liverpool sparked optimism about their chances of success this season, having been thrashed 4-0 by Manchester United on Sunday.

Abraham hopes Lampard’s side, who host Leicester on Sunday, can be title contenders in the Premier League.

“A lot of the boys see the way he wants us to play and we tried to play like that against Liverpool. We showed glimpses of what we can do,” he said.

“We’re a threat, we’re good defensively and we can attack. We just have to build on it. The whole team fills me with confidence.

“Every training session, before every game, they always lift me. I just have to push on this season and hopefully we can be up there to fight for the title.

“We would have liked to win the final and at United but it is still early doors. There is still a long season ahead and we are still in big competitions as well. It’s about how we react now. The points on Sunday will be massive for us.”