Chelsea coach Frank Lampard accepted his opponent team, Leicester City to be the better side as they defeated them 2-0 on their home ground. The coach pointed out the areas that should be addressed and wasn’t shy enough to admit how the individual off-form of the players have been affecting the whole team.
It was his fifth defeat in just eight games of the Premier League and his team sit nine points behind league leaders. He was annoyed with the lethargic performance shown by his side. He admitted that his boys completely lacked the desire to win the game compared to the home team.
‘We were beaten by the better team. The general theme of our performance was slower, was more sluggish, was lacking confidence but also lacking a bit of desire to run. That comes down to confidence at times. When a team is confident, they look like Leicester, like we did a month ago,’ said Lampard as per the Official Chelsea website.
‘They were sharper than us, they ran more than us and they showed real moments of quality. They looked like a team in form, we looked like a team out of form.
‘I’m disappointed with both the goals. It’s pivotal when you come to a team in good form you stay in the game early. We know we can compete with Leicester when we’re playing well, but when you go 2-0 down and you’re in a difficult period of form it affects the game hugely.
The Blues’ coach addressed the issue regarding set-pieces and the right side of his defensive department. Chelsea is not a complete team, he said and there is no permanent first XI.
‘The first is a set-piece that we need to deal with better when people don’t do their jobs. The second is poor defending on the right-hand side of our defense. They were clear individual errors that will give goals away.’
‘We are not the finished article. Sometimes there are players who impress and are playing well. Sometimes there are players fighting to get into the team. You can’t just conjure up your best team. Players have to make the spot their own.
‘In an ideal world, you find a team that is rolling. We were 16 unbeaten and it is easy to not change the team when you’re getting results. When you’re searching for form and individual improvement, it’s normal the team doesn’t pick itself,’ he added.
He urged the players to make the spot their own and avoid any individual mistakes as it is resulting in crucial points drop in the league. It has been indeed a roller-coaster ride for the English coach as three-months back, his side was thrashing every opponent’s left and right and had an unbeaten 16-game streak. Now he has dropped more points than what he dropped in the last four months.
