On Tuesday, January 19, Frank Lampard proved yet again that Chelsea still has a long way to go despite the over £200 million the club spent last summer to recruit established stars across Europe. The coach had no answer as he watched his club suffer the fifth defeat in eight games.
Chelsea’s visit to Kings Power Stadium to play against in-form Leicester City was not expected to end in a straight win. Coach Frank Lampard was expected to come up with a plan to ensure that Chelsea returned to Stamford Bridge with at least a point.
Unfortunately for the Blues, they met a very determined and compact team that wanted nothing but the three points. Hence, the match ended 2-0 in favor of Leicester.
Leicester’s defensive midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi scored the first goal of the match from 20 yards in the sixth minute. Chelsea almost had a chance of equalizing when the match’s center-referee Craig Pawson called for a penalty after Leicester’s Jonny Evans fouled Christian Pulisic close to the 18-yard box. Luckily for Leicester, the Video Assistant Referee overturned the decision by awarding Chelsea a free-kick.
A Wilf Worldie! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/KGJRf85d2d
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 20, 2021
The woe of Frank Lampard and his boys was worsened in the 41st minute when the hosts doubled their lead through the boots of James Maddison.
The first half ended 2-0 and the second half saw Chelsea having more of the ball but couldn’t do much with it. However, substitute Timo Werner almost pulled one back for Chelsea when he tapped in Hakim Ziyech’s free-kick. But the goal was disallowed because the German forward was offside.
At the end of the game which ended 2-0 in favor of the hosts, Leicester City returned to the top of the league table with 38 points in 19 league games. They are above second-placed Manchester United, third-placed Manchester City, and Fourth-placed Liverpool with games in hand. If United and City win their outstanding games, they will go above Leicester City.
While the 2-0 defeat in the hands of Leicester City has pushed Chelsea down to the 8th spot with 29 points in 19 league games, equal point with 9th placed Southampton that still have a game in hand. If Southampton win their outstanding game, they will switch places with Chelsea.
In an interview after the game, the coach of Chelsea, Frank Lampard, was asked about his future at the club after recording 6 defeats, 5 draws, and 8 wins in 19 games, the coach admitted that his future is out of his control.
He defended the form of his team by blaming the team’s performance on the ages of his players and how new his squad is. He however acknowledged that it was right for people to ask questions since his squad has not been performing well.
“It’s not my decision, that’s something that will always be there”, Frank Lampard told Sky Sports. “You always understand some things are beyond your control. Things you can control are going again, lifting the players, and working hard. That, I can’t answer.
“It intensified for me a while ago – expectations at this club, right or wrong, are always high. I know we’re in a different position if you look at our squad today and the age in our squad, and look at the composition of our squad, it’s a new squad. I keep talking about transition, but when you perform like that, normally, people ask questions.”
“I’m worried,” he added. “From the form, we were in to get so quickly into the form we’re in, even with the Fulham win, we should be better than that. Five losses in eight, that’s not where we want to be, it’s going to take a lot of character to return from that.
“They were sleeping moments, but there were quite a lot in the first half where our sharpness wasn’t there. Sometimes that relates to poor form, but those are moments where you have to dig in. The basics and the bare minimums are to run, sprint, and cover ground – too many of our players didn’t do it.”
