Coach Lampard: 'Chelsea will be different when playing Real'
"I'm very happy to be back at Chelsea, but also disappointed that I couldn't give the fans a win in the first game. We have to move on, though," Lampard said after the 30th Premier League defeat. . "Chelsea have a big game against Real next Wednesday where everything will be different. It's the preparation for the Champions League and I'm excited with that feeling."
When asked more about his predictions for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at Real on April 12, the British coach said "anything is possible". He called on the whole team to focus, not to be "depressed" after the loss to Wolves and to analyze and continue to improve. "The Champions League is a different league, a different type of game and we have to prepare properly, and the only way to get better is to work hard," Lampard stressed.
In the first match under the interim coach Lampard, Chelsea controlled the ball slightly better with 62% but still stuck. They finished 13 times with only one shot on target - Joao Felix's shot from outside the box went right into the position of goalkeeper Jose Sa.
Meanwhile, Wolves defended and counter-attacked, finishing nine times, but with greater accuracy with four directions of goal. They scored the decisive goal in the 31st minute, when Kalidou Koulibaly headed the ball into an assist for Matheus Nunes to catch a one-touch volley with his left foot diagonally out of range of Kepa.
According to Lampard, Chelsea's biggest problem is the lack of fierce competition and loss in duels. "To win in the Premier League, you have to be more passionate, faster, win more duels. That basic thing, against an opponent who is fighting to stay in the Premier League, will always determine the outcome. of the match, regardless of the talent of each club," the 44-year-old coach analyzed.
Chelsea is still in 11th place with 39 points, and has only scored 29 goals in 30 matches, a record lower than all 10 clubs ranked above. Even the penultimate team Leicester has scored 40 goals in the same 30 matches. Lampard admits the priority is to solve the thirst for goals, while improving the confidence and changing the mindset of the players. He also believes that many new Chelsea players need to be given more time to adapt and improve.
Yesterday, Lampard changed two main kick positions compared to the last game under Graham Potter, when Raheem Sterling and Conor Gallagher started, and Ben Chilwell was the substitute. N'Golo Kante and Mason Mount are both absent, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and $119 million rookie Mykhailo Mudryk only came on in the second half. "I have to try and use it all. We want to quickly evaluate the squad to find the best players for the goal of winning," explained Lampard.
