Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard admitted that his side deserved the the beating they received from Brighton on Saturday, insisting that they were a ‘yard short’ on almost everything.
Chelsea through Conor Gallagher took an early lead in the 13th minute, but were made to endure their 12th defeat of the season thanks to Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso goals which left the Blues languishing in the bottom half of the table in the 11th position.
Despite Gallagher ending Chelsea’s run of four games without seeing the back of the net, it was a performance that left a lot to be desired from the London side. Speaking to the media after the game, Lampard who has now lost all his games since his return to the club said;
“It was the most deserved one. More than defeats it is performance we have to talk about. Results only come with performance. This is a really good Brighton team, so we must give them credit. But we were a yard short, a tackle short, a fight in a duel short and when that’s not right you’re not going to win games. We need to turn that around quickly.”
Lampard went on to suggest that Chelsea players lack training for the basics. He said “It’s for me to try to get to the bottom of it quickly. We need training time but we don’t have training time. For things that are a must for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge – sprints, recovery runs… it wasn’t really there [on Saturday]. From that performance we certainly have work to do. I can’t say it wasn’t a bad game and we didn’t deserve to lose, the players wouldn’t expect that. The only thing that matters now is a reaction.”
Chelsea’s only hope of playing in the Champions League next season was by winning the whole thing this term, but as it stands, they are one leg out of the competition. The side lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in their quarterfinal first leg tie that was played at the Santiago Bernabue in midweek. They await the return leg that will happen on Tuesday at the Stamford Bridge.
“What matters is what we deliver on the pitch. What I say won’t change what the fans are like when Real Madrid come to Stamford Bridge. I know they’ll come and support us positively. We have to fight, that’s the bare minimum.” Lampard said.
