Chelsea coach didn’t shy away from speaking after witnessing his side lose to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in a 3-1 scoreline at the Stamford Bridge. This means that Chelsea has lost their fourth match of the Premier League in just six consecutive fixtures.
The coach spoke about the first half once again where his side lacked the performance to prevent Man City score three quick goals. He also said that he is aware of the managerial pressure and how they should move on for the next game collectively to win.
‘From 15 minutes onwards we allowed City to take control of the game, find spaces between the lines, and play with the quality of player they have,’ he said as per the Official Chelsea website.
‘The two goals came in quick succession and you have to continue believing and keep going, and for the rest of the half, the players found that difficult because of the levels City were playing at with and without the ball.’
‘I said to the players at half-time, I sat there and had those days. I sat there and had those days and lifted a trophy at the end of the year. I remember getting beaten at Middlesbrough 2-0 or 3-0, when they had Viduka and Yakubu up front, and we were sat in the dressing room pretty demoralized. We bounced back because we had a spirit in the dressing room, we had a quality of player.’
‘We’re in a different period now, but any player in football is going to have moments like that. Some of the results we’ve seen this season for other teams, Man City, Liverpool and others, have been harsh for them. Now, because we’re in a bit of a period, it becomes even harsher for us. I don’t want to hide away from that, but the players, myself, have to take it on the chin and react.’
The Blues although started very well with Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic in the wings but collapsed like a pack of cards under the collective threat of Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan and Phil Foden. In just a period of 16 minutes of error-prone defending by Chelsea and brilliant combination play by City, the scoreline became such that it became difficult for them to make a comeback.
Lampard also referred to the games where the big clubs who are now in the top three suffered humiliating defeats in the Premier League and the team moved past on the results.
Lampard assured that his team can again turn the results into three points in the matches coming ahead. His side performed well in the second half when Kai Havertz came in while Billy Gilmour was substituted in place of struggling N’Golo Kante. Chelsea held onto the game and even got into the scoresheet when Callum Hudson Odoi netted a low cross from Havertz late in the game.
