SAME SPARKS, FAMILIAR PROBLEMS. Lampard’s Chelsea squander one-goal lead to draw at the Bridge. 

 

WITH heartbreak in Istanbul still feeling fresh from their defeat to Champions of Europe, Liverpool. Princes of Europe – Chelsea, were itching to rid themselves of the anguish that comes with cup final defeat (even if critics label it ‘a glorified friendly’), and use it as fire to spur on a first Premier League victory of the season against their opponents Leicester City.

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Raring to go, the Chelsea players came out of the blocks rather quickly – creating three big chances in the opening seven minutes of play. The first came in minute uno as the returning Olivier Giroud’s neat touch down from captain Azpilicueta’s cross cushioned a tea up to Pedro – who blazed his volley wide of the near post. Then came an effort from the young Mason Mount just a minute later, who fired along the floor; straight at Dane, Kasper Schmeichel. It was an early sign of what was poised to be an exciting night ahead for Chelsea fans with gaffer Lampard already off of his seat.

Chelsea took the lead five minutes later when Mount capitalised on Leicester’s Wilfried Ndidi’s sloppiness. The combative Nigerian did not look up as the onrushing Mason Mount mugged him of the ball like an innocent Year 7 schoolboy.  Predator Mount was on his way over too but after his victim had tumbled over in his dust he curled in a low shot away from ‘keeper Schmeichel. 1-0.

It was a positive start for the blues who once again had started the game on the front foot with high intensity and purpose. Azpilicueta’s cross met Mount’s head, whose header landed like his first shot in the game, straight at the goalkeeper. Had he used his bonce a little more and directed into the other corner, though, the academy graduate would have doubled Chelsea’s lead and his own goal tally.

Another golden chance came around at minute 26′ when Giroud’s back-heel – a player who has mastered the trade of little flicks from his days at Arsenal as a gunner, found N’GOLO KANTE in the box. I capitalise that because it’s Kante – the diminutive and lovable yet terrorising french bulldog in midfield, who should be running around further back but has since developed a more attacking side to his game since former manager Maurizio Sarri deemed him the new Iniesta, and encouraged him to attack, and is now a force to be reckoned with. It’s too bad that on this occasion he did not react quite quickly enough as his shot was intercepted by a late lunge from Leicester defender Christian Fuchs.

After that, something changed. The players’ intensity dropped and suddenly Leicester began to win the battles from midfield, gaining confidence of their own but also finding joy in Chelsea’s struggles from the back. Blues ‘keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga usually displays confidence in abundance and is very capable of passing the ball out from the back, but a total mishap with the ball at his feet saw him lucky to escape red-faced as Jamie Vardy read it and ran straight into to it. But the ball was tackled away by Kepa and landed fortunately to his nearest teammate.

Eventual Man of the Match winner James Maddision conjured up a few chances and was a constant threat to the Chelsea defence and when his corner met Ndidi, unmarked in the box, the Nigerian transformed from villain to hero for the away fans as his bullet header rifled the net; leaving ‘keeper Kepa with no chance.

It all begs the question – after such positive starts to all three competitive games and creating many chances throughout, why are we still not leaving the pitch celebrating?

Lampard’s story so far has been a tale of two halves. We play nimble yet so naive consistently and in another contradiction, are fantastic in first halves and yet farcical in the next. Against Manchester United and Leicester the games could have been wrapped by the whistle for half time, but missed chances allow others to get back into the game and in the Premier League, if you do that, you get punished. Football is an unforgiving game. I don’t know what Lampard is feeding them at half-time, but it’s like they start into games high on a sugar rush and go into the second half as dying Duracell’s ready to switch off at any moment.

Lampard said after the match in an interview with Sky Sports that his team “Needed to have a bit more personality about us” and, he’s right, as long as it’s not a bi-polar one. What is clear however, is that patience will be key. If we want to be getting the points on board the fans must stick with Frank and his team through thick and thin, just as they did in his playing days – because every football fan wants him to do well, and if they don’t then they are infectious. And not the good kind. More like an epidemic.

What will encourage them however is this was Liverpool’s problem when Jürgen Klopp first took over from Brendan Rogers. Their high intensity levels meant that they dropped off at the end of games. Fans began to question if he was the right man for the job, but now look where they are.

Keep the faith blues fans, one point is better than none. And everyone else? Be wary. We are in a new age. An age now where playing out from the back is not a trend, but a normality. An age where VAR rules the Premier League.

Football is changing.

But Chelsea will be back soon enough.