Chelsea: Three lessons as Frank Lampard takes Marcelo Bielsa to school

It wasn’t always pretty, but Frank Lampard’s Chelsea managed to blast away Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds overall. What lessons were learnt at Stamford Bridge?

In Leeds’ defense, they absolutely did not make it easy for Chelsea. The Blues were under constant pressure and had to push themselves harder and longer than in any other game this season. That being said, they kept pushing and though Leeds might be unlucky not to have scored more, Chelsea was unlucky for it not to be an absolute blowout. What lessons were learnt as Frank Lampard took Bielsa to school?

1. The fans are back in town and Stamford Bridge

The last time Stamford Bridge had any fans was in March. It was always going to be a question how much 2000 fans could make themselves known in a stadium that is supposed to fit more than twenty times that. The answer is those 2000 acted more like 40000.

The day sadly started with Millwall booing taking a knee. There was a narrative prematch that Chelsea, in part due to unfortunate incidents over the years and proximity of Millwall, would follow suit. Instead, the fans applauded the knee. It is barely getting talked about, but it was a fantastic moment that set the tone for the rest of the match.

The Blues faithful rallied behind the side, even when going behind. They rallied when Leeds were gaining a foothold on the match. They rallied behind Timo Werner when he made several misses that should have been goals. And perhaps best of all, they ruthless squealed at Diego Llorente any time he got on the ball, mocking a reaction he had earlier in the match.

Are fans in general going to be a competitive advantage for the teams that have them against teams that don’t? Overall, probably not but when a team is flying high like Chelsea is, they can put some air under the wings to keep them flying high.