Frank Lampard has reiterated again that his Chelsea squad is far from the level of the newly crowned champions, Liverpool, or the previous starters, Manchester City. Wednesday night’s disappointing loss to West Ham in an empty Olympic stadium is just further evidence of the team’s inconsistencies.
It is these kinds of performances that define the difference between where this youthful Chelsea stands as title contenders and where Lampard hopes this team will be as title contenders in the future.
“It is something that has happened a few times this season. We have had opportunities to close gaps and jump on teams due to other results or any situation. ”
“But we have not done it and that is a sign of where we are. We know we have a lot of work to do to get to where we want to be and the reason the rest of us are chasing Liverpool and Man City is because of the consistency that develops over time. We have to work for that. “
When asked if he was disappointed in his team’s defense, Lampard quickly veered off and refused to isolate the blame.
However, the defense failures were exposed. The decisive goal in the loss came when Chelsea’s fullbacks were overcommitted in search of the winner and the centerbacks destroyed any defensive form that was left with a poor position and play reading. West Ham’s second came from a dire display by each member of the last four.
West Ham’s first goal (and offside just before) came from a more disastrous defense. Chelsea captain César Azpilicueta did his best (arguably) to prevent an imposing Tomas Souček from scoring the header from the corner, but it could also be argued that the undersized fullback, often exposed by his only weakness, his height, even in Conte’s three-man defenses. Past seasons, he shouldn’t have been one of the highest in West Ham.
“No, not disappointed by the defenders. We made mistakes in preparing the goals, not just defenders, which cost us the game. When a team is bigger than you, as they were today, you can work all week … if someone is much taller than the opponent and exceeds them, then they will score goals. “
“That’s what happens, so we knew they were bigger than us today and they were going to try to score goals or win the game.” But the players have to deal with that on the field. “
Despite winning three straight games since soccer returned, Chelsea’s underlying performances were already inconsistent. The level of play against Leicester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals left a lot to be desired, especially after a critical victory against Manchester City just four days earlier.
Unfortunately for Lampard, newcomers Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner are not eligible to play this season. With six league games remaining, Chelsea continues in a massive fight for third and fourth place in the Premier League table, with just three points separating the four teams from 3rd to 6th.
“I wouldn’t call it a wake-up call. Each game is different. We now have six games to go and this was not a big surprise. If you play in the Premier League and make mistakes, if you control possession but don’t do enough at the top of the field, then it can happen. That’s something we already knew. “
“Obviously it is frustrating, but if we are in that position, it is how you recover, how you advance. We have to realize the position we are in in terms of fighting for the Champions League positions and moving forward. “
Each cloud, as they say, has a silver lining, even a shadowy cloud exemplified by Chelsea’s defeat in a classic “cheat game.” The bright side of this game belongs to young Christian Pulisic, who was once again Chelsea’s standout player.
With each touch, he seemed like a threat. He missed the first chance of the match with curling effort, won the penalty kick for Chelsea’s first goal with a quick dribble in the area, and continued to lead the West Ham defense in a way that really reminded him of Eden Hazard, and finally won the free kick. from which Chelsea’s second goal was scored.
Willian, of course, deserves to be mentioned as Chelsea’s sole scorer. His aforementioned free kick effort was as delightful as ever, recalling some of his great efforts from half a decade ago.
“A great positive. [Pulisic’s] playing very well, as we can all see. He and Willian too. Willian scores both of his goals. But with Christian I think it’s more similar to the beginning of the season when he had a patch in the Christmas race where he was playing at his level. “
“Then he was injured and was out for a long time. It’s nice to see him back, fresh and hungry, and playing with the quality he has. He is a very talented young player. “
– Frank Lampard, source: Soccer, London.
If you still need something positive to hold onto after this game, Willian is now the first player in Premier League history to score in each calendar month.
Watford are next at home on Saturday. KTBFFH.
Now that Willian has called! Let me tell you about an interesting Willian album!
Willian is the ONLY player in Premier League history to score in every month of a calendar year! July was the only month left and he did that day too! What a record pic.twitter.com/fN0n7d76K5
– Nouman (@nomifooty) July 1, 2020
