Chelsea have more than a month left before they will play football again. Experienced players will be key to the Blues coming back where they left off.
The season was always going to be a formidable one for Chelsea. The Blues had to deal with a transfer ban on top of losing their star player, Eden Hazard. Maurizio Sarri’s departure meant a new manager had to be appointed. The club layered on the challenges to give Frank Lampard the job with his brief experience.
As the season is on a break, fans and the board will be content with the performance so far from the boys in blue under Frank Lampard. The last two matches against Liverpool and Everton were the best Chelsea played under him. It was merely not the results, but how they were achieved.
After an initial struggle, the Blues managed to string a run of consecutive wins, which saw Frank Lampard winning his first manager of the season award. But from December onward, the team’s performance was mixed. There were impressive victories over London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham, but the rest of the results were pretty much poor.
The run of victories also meant they retained a considerable lead over the top-four chase pack. Luck was undoubtedly on Chelsea’s side during those times. The terrible form of their nearest rivals meant the Blues never dropped outside of the Champions League spots, even if those teams are worryingly closer now.
Lampard’s inexperience in managing was also visible with his treatment of certain players. The team’s performance improved vastly once he turned to senior players like Olivier Giroud and Pedro, who were alienated during the first half of season. The way he managed the squad during the injury crisis represented a welcome sign of his pedigree in man-management.
The previous point should not take away how Lampard brought the best out of players like Christian Pulisic, Andres Christensen and, of course, Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Pulisic and Christensen were completely different players when they made their return. It took a while for Lampard to drop Arrizabalaga after his below-par performances. He was kept out for a considerable time before he was brought back ahead of Liverpool’s visit. The fans saw a version of the Spaniard they have not seen formerly. He looked much assured and confident in the last two matches.
Much has been said about the youngsters, but Billy Gilmour deserves much credit for his part in Chelsea’s performance in the last two matches. Those two matches saw a perfect mix of youth and experience bringing the best of the team.
When the season returns, the Blues will have an almost fully fit squad. It will be tough for Lampard to choose the match-day squad, let alone the starting XI, from those. He should be careful not to ignore experience again.
It’s the perfect mix that moves the team forward where every player has an equal chance.