Lampard Said There Was A Difference In The Level Of Confidence Between Chelsea And City Players

Frank Lampard (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Chelsea manager Frank Lampard acknowledged the difference in the level of confidence between Chelsea and the Manchester City players which caused the Blues to lose 1-3 in the 17th Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, London, Sunday local time (Monday WIB).

"The City squad contains players who have been together for a long time and achieved a lot of success. They are in a comfortable position to produce good results," Lampard said in post-match comments reported by Antara from the official Chelsea website.

"As for us, a team that had a good period and is now in difficult times. That's something that is difficult to deal with and we need to learn from our team, which contains young and new players," he added.

Although City arrived at Stamford Bridge carrying the weight of the absence of five players from their squad due to COVID-19 including Gabriel Jesus and main goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, that did not stop them from performing well.

In the first 34 minutes, City were able to hold a 3-0 lead thanks to goals scored by Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne, who in this match was plotted as a center forward by Pep Guardiola.

"When City heated up their performance in the first half, our players didn't react well to the opponents' goals," said Lampard.

"Part of that is due to a problem of confidence when you look at the level that you want to achieve (shown by the opposing team) and you have not been able to reach it yourself," he concluded.

This is what Frank Lampard had to say after #CHEMCI ...

- Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 3, 2021

The result is Chelsea's fourth defeat in their last six Premier League matches, leaving them eighth in the standings with 26 points.

Chelsea will next host fourth caste team Morecambe in their FA Cup third round match on Sunday, January 10 this weekend before visiting Fulham headquarters five days later if their opponents have passed the COVID-19 crisis in their squad.

Full-time. # CHEMCI pic.twitter.com/Cb2MbuU5l6

- Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 3, 2021