‘I’ll be the first to look at myself’: Frank Lampard shares responsibility as Chelsea are swept aside by Man City

Frank Lampard has said he is not out to criticise his players following Chelsea’s 3-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester City on Sunday evening.

Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne all netted for the visitors before the break at Stamford Bridge, leaving Chelsea with it all to do in the second half.

And, although substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a last-minute consolation goal for Lampard’s side, they were thoroughly outclassed despite City lacking five key players amid a coronavirus outbreak at the club.

“It was [chastening], because for 10 minutes we were good, then they started to play and we concede two poor goals – two really poor goals, back-to-back,” Lampard told Sky Sports  at full-time.

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“I felt it knocked us and I felt we didn’t react as well as I wanted. Against City, you have to accept periods of possession for them – that’s what they do – and the chance they might score a goal. So we didn’t react well to that.

“We knew they would play without a real striker, so we had to make sure that space wasn’t there. We allowed the space for De Bruyne to get into the game, and [Bernardo] Silva and Gundogan when he gets the opportunity for the first one. 

“So, serious lessons in the first half, good character in the second half, but the game was done.”

Lampard was notably critical of his players following their convincing 3-1 loss to Arsenal on Boxing Day, but the former Blues midfielder was rather more restrained on Sunday evening.

“Their level of play… You’re talking De Bruyne, he was here – I was here when he was a kid and [he] couldn’t get in. Credit to him, he went away and came back and know you’ve got prime Kevin De Bruyne. And you can go through their team and talk about that.

“One month ago, everyone was saying we can win the league. I was pretty sure on the fact that where we’re at – in terms of a rebuild, in terms of the [transfer] ban, in terms of new players in the team, in terms of the youth – there are periods of pain that we’re going to go through as a club and as individuals.

“That was painful, first half, for the players – I know that. They’ve got to get better at receiving the ball in tight areas, they’ve got to get better at understanding when the press comes you have to accept it or miss the press out. When a team gives you a problem on the pitch that we talked about before the game, it has to be dealt with in-game – and in the first half we didn’t. In the second half we were better, but it was done.”

Lampard stressed that he was less dismayed by his team’s performance against City than in the Arsenal defeat despite the matching scorelines.

“It’s not [the same feeling],” he said. “The first half, when we went to Arsenal, was lethargic and I didn’t understand it. Today, I understand that the players had a real problem in the first half on the pitch, because City were showing real personality and quality on the ball. And we [dealt with] it for 10 minutes. Control, control. When the game turns, that’s when you’re tested and you have to react in the game, not lean on the youth, [although] I think some of the younger players really came to the fore.

“I thought Mason Mount showed that second half, Billy Gilmour showed that when he came on in the second half, Callum comes on and gets his goal, so this is not about the youth of our squad being the issue, it’s just a reality that we’re in a little period – a five- or six-game period that none of us like. I think if you probably go back to City in the first year of this regime, or Liverpool, there were periods of pain. You have to fight through that, and that comes with viewing this game and looking at how we can be better as we go on.

“If you’ve been in football this long… I said to the players at half-time, I sat there and had those days and lifted a trophy at the end of the year. We bounced back, because we had a spirit in the dressing room, we had a quality of player, and we’re in a different period now, but any player in football is gonna have moments like that.

“Some of the results we’ve seen this season for other teams – Man City, Liverpool, etc. – have been harsh to them. Now, because we’re in a bit of a period, it becomes even harsher for us, we won’t hide away from that. But the players and myself have to take it on the chin and react. This is football.”

Lampard insisted that his players have the mental strength to battle their way out of their slump, which has seen them fall to four defeats in their last six games and slip to eighth in the Premier League – seven points behind leaders and champions Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

“Without a doubt we have that, because we went 16 games unbeaten. A month ago, everyone’s asking me about where we can go to, where am I gonna go, where’s the new contract? Now people are saying the opposite. I can’t control that, we can’t control that. What we can control is what we do tonight and tomorrow and the next day, and what we do against Morecambe and Fulham.

“I have belief in the group – I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m criticising players, I’ll be the first to look at myself today. When I look at the squad, I know that there is uplift in this team, but I know where we’re at – because I see it, and I know the work it takes to be at the level that Manchester City churned out today. 

“That’s been a lot of years in the making, a lot of players playing in the prime of their careers, showing confidence and character. It’s normal that as a squad we take little knocks along the way. Now’s a test.”

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