Premier League giants Chelsea fell to yet another defeat in the competition after they succumbed to a 3-0 loss at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The Blues were coming into this tie in a poor run of form, and the Chelsea faithful weren’t overly hopeful going into the fixture. Although they were given a slight glimmer of hope when the lineups were released an hour prior to kick off, even a heavily weakened Manchester City team turned out to be too much for Chelsea to deal with. Much to the surprise of most onlookers, it was actually Chelsea who started the game looking much brighter.
Unsurprisingly, however, their time in the spotlight didn’t last very long at all, as Guardiola’s side soon stepped into the ascendancy, after which point there wasn’t much Chelsea could do. Defensively, they were quite poor, as City seemed to be capable of carving out a clear-cut opportunity every time they pushed forward. Chelsea, on the other hand, began to find it extremely difficult to put more than two passes together, and that was down to some serious pressing from Manchester City. At the end of the night, Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a consolation goal, but it wasn’t enough to save Frank Lampard’s blemishes.
Here Are 3 Lessons Learnt From Chelsea’s Defeat To Manchester City:
3 Lessons Learnt From Chelsea’s Defeat To Manchester City
Frank Lampard Might Have Bitten Off More Than He Can Chew
When the Chelsea legend arrived at Stamford Bridge at the start of the 19/20 Premier League campaign, the mood around the club improved immediately. Although they secured Champions League qualification last season, at no point were they overly convincing tactically. This season as well, despite playing some excellent football in spells, it must be conceded that Chelsea are still far from their glory days. With no apparent game plan or tactics in place, it is gradually beginning to look like the Chelsea job was too big for an inexperienced manager like Frank Lampard.
N’Golo Kante Needs To Be Given A Rest
The Frenchman is undoubtedly one of the greatest holding midfielders of the last decade, if not the absolute best. Despite this, it must be taken into account that he’s played a ton of football under Lampard this season. While the last couple of campaigns weren’t this taxing because of a slightly more advanced position, this year, playing as a holding midfielder, he has been utilised quite a bit. Whether or not the display against City was just a blip remains to be seen, but all things considered, it wouldn’t be the worst idea for Lampard to give the World Cup winner a deserved rest.
Chelsea Attack Line Has Potential
As bad as their display against the Citizens was, it’s worth noting that the Chelsea attacking display was one of the better ones they put up in December. The defeats to Everton and Arsenal saw Chelsea put up completely toothless performances, compared to which the City one wasn’t half bad. The link up between the likes of Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech was apparent to see, and once Kai Havertz starts playing at full flow too, things could turn around for Chelsea. The fans will do well to keep their expectations grounded, as allowing these world-class players time to settle will surely pay dividends in the long run.
