Chelsea: Four reasons loss to Bayern was as predictable as it was necessary
By Varun Dani
3. Injuries and effort
Amidst all the analysis and reactions, the biggest misconception by far of the night was the talk of “lack of effort” or “players not showing up.” On nights that bring forth frequent adrenaline rushes, it is easy to forget all the circumstances that Frank Lampard and his squad carried into this game.
The 3-4-3 is not Lampard’s preferred tactic: it is a system he implemented to try to cope with injuries to key players and two inactive transfer windows. Lampard tried to use Reece James and Marcos Alonso to make up for the absence of injured attacking threats Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The trio would have undoubtedly helped create and finish chances that would have broken down the Bayern Munich defence. Another key absentee, who has been grossly disrespected this season, was N’Golo Kante. This game was hopefully a reminder for everyone that Chelsea need Kante’s mad-running, tough-tackling, relentless approach to disrupt a better opponent’s game plan.
More. Chelsea need N'Golo Kante to cover the spaces left in this aggressive 3-4-3. light
The Blues’ defence was subpar, as it has been for a better part of three years, which can only be improved by transfers: transfers Lampard was completely deprived of. In these dire circumstances, the manager and his players did the best they could.
Don’t mistake the superiority of Bayern Munich’s players as lack of effort by Chelsea’s team.
The effort was there, but it just wasn’t good enough because it couldn’t be.