Chelsea started the game well against Manchester United but were left undone by a rash Kurt Zouma challenge on the appropriately named Marcus Rashford and three breakaway goals. Frank Lampard takes the responsibility but does not deserve the blame.
Are we downhearted after that loss to Manchester United? Yes, we are. Joking. Nope, Super Frank Lampard is still in charge and Chelsea are just beginning their journey with our hero at the helm. The long term future of Chelsea Football Club is in safe hands and, of course, there will be ups and downs.
This was an unfortunate start but there were positive signs. Having topped the table for hitting the woodwork last season, Chelsea began the new one really positively. Both Tambraham and Emerson beat David de Gea but not the goal. Had either of those gone in the result could have been different. You can’t blame Frank for that.
The old adage was that over the course of a season the decisions made by the referee and his assistants would even themselves out. The introduction of the VAR may skew those stats.
Chelsea’s defending was poor for all the goals they conceded, there can no doubt about that. However, Tambraham appeared to have been fouled at the top of Manchester United’s box just before the start of United’s breakaway for the second goal. The VAR said no.
Later, Kurt Zouma went down holding his head and, despite nearly all United players calling for the game to be stopped, Anthony Taylor played on and United scored their fourth goal.
You can’t blame Frank for that.
This is Lampard’s first season in top flight management. The Premier League is no picnic. However, Lampard has spent most of his footballing career within its confines and knows the ups and the downs.
Chelsea, through their own poor judgement, have found themselves unable to buy players for two transfer windows. There are clearly positions on the field that, despite a supply of decent youth players, need strengthening. The transfer kitty is brimming (it’ll overflow once the bonuses start getting triggered) but the money is simply earning interest. You can’t blame Frank for that.
The simple fact is Antonio Conte (love him) left Frank Lampard without a striker. That text sent from an Italian beach back in 2017 saw Diego Costa eventually leave Chelsea, never to be replaced. Conte wanted Romelu Lukaku and, two years on, e finally his him at Inter Milan.
The Belgian was not everyone’s choice, but Lukaku wanted to come to Chelsea and he fit the bill. He may have been clumsy (see also: Zouma, Kurt) but he was a goalscorer.
You can’t blame Frank for that.
With the first game of the season out of the way, the Premier League teams can settle into a week of reflection and training as they either build on success or work to rectify issues.
Not Chelsea or Liverpool, though. Success in Europe last season means that both clubs head out to Istanbul for UEFA’s annual jolly in the meaningless (unless you win it) Super Cup. Maurizio Sarri selfishly used Chelsea to win his first-ever and probably last trophy before jumping ship. It’s a distraction that is just not needed. You can’t blame Frank for that.
No one knows how this season will pan out for Chelsea, but with Frank Lampard as Chelsea’s manager, the results are almost secondary. We know we’ll get honest assessments from him post-match and no ambiguous quotes deflecting the blame. Lampard knows what he wants and is prepared to back himself to get the job done.
This first result was a bad one, of course, but the management team will hopefully learn from it and set about recovering from it.
By his own admission, Chelsea are Super Frankie Lampard’s team. As he stood on the touchline at Old Trafford his face was that of a supporter.
He didn’t look like he was enjoying the experience of being the manager. He’s a winner and that defeat hurt as he only wanted the best for his team.
And you can only credit Frank for that.