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Chelsea: The difference between this year and last could be mentality

By Gabe Henderson

Chelsea's English head coach Frank Lampard (C) walks onto the pitch ahead of the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge in London on November 7, 2020. (Photo by PETER CZIBORRA / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PETER CZIBORRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's English head coach Frank Lampard (C) walks onto the pitch ahead of the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Sheffield United at Stamford Bridge in London on November 7, 2020. (Photo by PETER CZIBORRA / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by PETER CZIBORRA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s collective mentality could prove to be the difference between this year’s performance and last year’s finish across all competitions.

Chelsea is now going into the campaign’s second international break with an extreme amount of confidence. On the back of a 4-1 win over Sheffield United, the Blues are now unbeaten in their last eight matches dating back to September 29. Despite a sluggish start to the season, Frank Lampard’s side finds itself third in the Premier League table (awaiting the remaining matchweek eight results) and sits atop Group E in the Champions League.

The Blues are playing with a level of assertiveness that was not present throughout the entirety of last year. This mentality boost is the early, glaring difference between this season and last. If Lampard keeps the fire lit under his side, the sky is the limit, with the key being a killer mentality.

It was difficult for Lampard to establish this frame of mind in his team during his debut season in charge of Chelsea. From the day he took over, excuses were seemingly made of his side from the transfer ban to losing Eden Hazard and everything in between. The Blues over-performed and exceeded expectations as a whole, but the campaign was frustrating for everybody involved, especially near the end.

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This season’s success can be attributed to multiple things. For starters, the Blues returned some key players and amongst those were the youngsters who now have experience under their belts. Second, Lampard had more time to build a relationship with his players and evaluate them. When the young manager took over on July 4, 2019, he was seemingly thrown to the wolves as Chelsea began its preseason almost immediately.

Lastly, an influx of world class individuals helped bring some more quality into the side. These professionals also brought their leadership and perhaps most important of all, their winning mentalities. Those were two standards that were clearly lacking last season. The purchases of Thiago Silva and Hakim Ziyech showed the coaches and board knew what was missing from the team. Both individuals—albeit on the older side compared to other transfers—have a history of winning. The mindset that comes with success is not something that can be taught, but rather instilled.

Along with Ziyech and Silva, Lampard drills this into the players’ minds every day. The difference this year is, the young players lacked mentors who exemplified this principle in the dressing room last year. The dressing room now consists of a plethora of Lampard’s handpicked leaders with these experiences in Silva, Ziyech, Olivier Giroud, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and of course, Cesar Azpilicueta. They have all bought into what Lampard is preaching and perhaps that is the driving force behind this team.

Things were never going to click right away. The Coronavirus schedule, the lack of a preseason, injuries and an excessive amount of new transfers all contributed to a slow start. Regardless of all this, the Blues are now doing things that last year’s team did not and it boils down to mentality. Lampard has his team in the right state of mind this year. After going down 1-0 to Sheffield United on Saturday, Chelsea didn’t look defeated, drained or content. The Blues looked angry, unsatisfied and hungry. This hunger drove them throughout the match; not just until they had a lead. Chelsea is not only turning games on their heads, it is also finishing off games this season. This is why the Blues have the best goal difference in the Premier League thus far.

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We are now seeing what this side is fully capable of—despite the absences of Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz. The Blues are legitimate title contenders and while the new signings play a part, it’s the mentality Lampard has instilled in the players that is driving them forward. The gaffer has some characteristics of his former coaches, so it’s not difficult to see a Jose Mourinho-esque instinct rooted deep in this Chelsea side.

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