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‘I grew up as a defender’ Abraham on crucial clearance against Barnsley

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Tammy Abraham not only scored the winning goal against Barnsley but made a crucial intervention to keep the score-line intact.

Tammy Abraham was crucial at both ends of the pitch as Chelsea progressed past Barnsley, courtesy of a 1-0 victory.

The 23-year-old connected to a pin-point cross from Reece James to score his 12th goal of the season.

On a cold night at Oakwell, Chelsea were made to work hard for their victory and Thomas Tuchel even admitted they got lucky.

The game could have even seen a different outcome if not for Tammy Abraham who made a superb defensive clearance on his line. In fact, the 23-year-old even celebrated the clearance more than his goal.

The forward has some history playing in defence and he admits that past experience was key to him being in the right place at the right time.

“I grew up being a defender” Abraham said to the club’s website.

“So it was just an instinctive reaction really!”

“It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time and getting my head on the ball. I saw the ball coming towards the goal and I just knew I had to do something and like I said, it was just instinctive. I think I celebrated the clearance more than the goal!”

“It was a good night in the end. We got the win to get through to the quarter-final, we kept a clean sheet and on a personal level, it was great to score the winning goal.”

Having played in the Championship, Abraham is well familiar with Barnsley and also admits they were a difficult side to crack.

“Coming here is never easy” added Abraham.

“I’ve experienced that myself from my time in the Championship.”

“Credit to Barnsley, they made it difficult but we knew the chances would come for us eventually. I just had to make sure I was in the right place at the right time and thankfully I was.”

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