Our players are too nice on the ball — Lampard on why Chelsea lost

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has criticized his players for being “too nice” during their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in their English Premier League match on Tuesday. The Gunners emerged victorious with goals from Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus, while Noni Madueke scored the only goal for Chelsea in the second half.

Lampard has blamed his players for giving Arsenal too much space and playing passively in the match. He was not happy with his team’s performance, especially in the first half, where they were unable to keep up with Arsenal. The Chelsea boss pointed out that the team was not defending properly, and their lack of intensity and aggressiveness made it easy for Arsenal to find spaces to attack.

“The performance in the first half was nowhere near good enough. Too nice to play against, too passive. Defensively the line wasn’t coming up, which was giving them space. In possession we weren’t playing over their press. All the things that make you a nice team to play against, we did. The second half was better but the result was relatively confirmed by then,” Lampard said in a post-match interview.

Lampard’s criticism comes as Chelsea’s chances of finishing in the top four are now in jeopardy following the defeat to Arsenal. The Blues are currently 12th in the table, nine points above relegation.

Chelsea still has Manchester United, Manchester City to face and at the moment are battling against AFC Bournemouth for mid-table supremacy.

Lampard will hope that his players can put their disappointing performance against Arsenal behind them and produce better displays in their upcoming matches.

However, the Chelsea boss will have to find a way to motivate his players to play with more intensity and aggressiveness if they are to achieve their target of a top-four finish.