Chelsea: Three ways Frank Lampard can minimize inevitable dips in form

Frank Lampard took a bit of the heat off after a three-game winless streak. Though his young talents were able to defeat Aston Villa, the pressure will not be released so easily.

Chelsea kept their margin in the top four secure with their win over Aston Villa. But Wolves, Manchester United and Tottenham are gaining momentum. The top seven teams in the Premier League all won in matchweek 15. Tottenham, the eighth place team, lost to Manchester United, now up to sixth. The Blues are six points ahead of fifth, eight points ahead of sixth and nine points ahead of eighth. In the Premier League in December, those leads can go away in what feels like a blink of an eye.

Even so, things are fine at Stamford Bridge as the results are overwhelming for such a young team. They are about to qualify for the next stage in the Champions league and, if they can maintain the momentum in the Premier League, finishing in the top three in the league is not impossible at all. Fluctuations like the one the Blues just came out of will keep happen – that’s a fact. So what can Frank Lampard can do to avoid any major breakdown till next summer?

1) Make Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud productive again

During the West ham match, Giroud was completely isolated by the team tactics. He is performing so well with the France national team, but somehow no one in Blue was interested in feeding him with the proper header ball.

He is still fit and can help Chelsea during those times where Tammy Abraham is unable to perform. He will surely leave the club, but before he does, Lampard must milk the most out of him. He is hungry to prove himself on his way out the door, so exploiting him can be a piece of cake.

The same goes for Michy Batshuayi. He can score goals, too, but it seems like Frank Lampard is focused too strictly on sending offense through Christian Pulisic. This failed during the West Ham match, and left Chelsea without any other options despite Batshuayi playing just a few yards away.

2) Sorting out the defense

Clearly Kepa Arrizabalaga and his back line are not performing, though they are the most experienced ones. Frank Lampard should be concentrating on the players that have proven their worth under the previous managers. There is no doubt that the youngsters are challenging the senior players, but with so many crucial games lined-up, he must unleash the experience now.

3) Maintaining the balance

The current strength of Chelsea is their midfielders. They are some of the finest who have proven their worth with the best clubs around the Europe. No doubt, they are keeping the momentum up and high.

The flanks are sorted out after a long time and it is a pleasure to watch players like Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic. Frank Lampard could not have asked more from the new recruits, with even the inexperienced ones playing at a high, Chelsea-appropriate level. But finding the right balance seems tough for the head coach sometimes.

Frank Lampard sometimes seems to neglect the important issues, and the match against West Ham was a classic example. After all the possession and attacking moves they could not utilize Olivier Giroud in his rare start. Lampard took Giroud off in the 71′ in favor of Callum Hudson-Odoi, shifting Christian Pulisic to the center. This seemed to shuffle the deck at the Frenchman’s expense, rather than get at the underlying issues.

A few reinforcements in the January transfer window (if possible) might help the team. But even if Chelsea have the “right” players, they must still sort out having the right XI and tactics for each opponent. The balance between attacking and defense, experience and youth, transitions and stability must be maintained regardless of who is available in the squad and who is the opponent.

Even without any transfer this team seems to have perfect combination for every situation. Frank Lampard’s mindset is the key to success, and the game against Aston Villa showed that success is never far removed from the inevitable dips.