Chelsea has had a turn around since Frank Lampard took over as manager. His vision of using young players to create a new team was what attracted Chelsea to him in the first place. It also seems to be paying off. However, Lampard admits Chelsea aren’t serious title winners yet.
Since the beginning of March, Chelsea has been able to win nine of 11 games. They have beaten teams like Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. However, they have failed to win games against West Ham and Sheffield United. They have put up a good fight for good teams, but seem to slip against others.
“I think that’s part of the story. I think it’s probably more where we are at,” Lampard said in a news conference.
“Some days after a good result everything feels rosy and we have a team to take on everybody and a team the quality of Manchester United. And after Sheffield United everything’s terrible. My job is to stay somewhere in the middle and see the longer game and work towards that. Inconsistency generally comes when teams are in a process. Liverpool weren’t banging out win after win a few years ago. They’ve worked towards that. We have to understand where we’re at. Fight against it, for sure, we have to try and replicate that mentality, quality and work ethic that we produced against Manchester United more. That will come with work, I strongly believe.”
Lampard has a point about the inconsistency. People can look at Liverpool a few years ago when Jurgen Klopp started to rebuild the team. Klopp went after redesigning who was on the field and the fundamental structure of the team. This has proved to be great after an early Premier League win this season.
Liverpool has an 18-point lead on second-place Man City and a 30-point lead on Chelsea. They have separated themselves from the crowd. There are only a few games left of the season.
Liverpool has two more games. One against Chelsea and the other against Newcastle. At their game against Chelsea on Wednesday, Liverpool will raise the Premier League trophy.
It was only three seasons ago that Chelsea was lifting the trophy. It is a future possibility for Chelsea to raise it again, but they have to continue improving. Lampard recognizes that the team is still rebuilding. Even going as far as to say that Liverpool and Chelsea are not in the same league right now.
“A long way,” Lampard said when asked about how far behind they are from Liverpool.
“We have to be realistic about that as a club, as do many of the clubs. Themselves and Manchester City – particularly Liverpool and their league form this year – have shown an incredible consistency that only comes through hard work and sometimes through time, and fantastic players and coaching. We are at a different point in the curve. We have to look and respect that and work towards that. You’re talking about probably the two best club teams in world football – up there with maybe a couple of others in European football. That’s the difference. The points don’t lie over the last few seasons. We’re realistic but we have to have some strong targets and we want to close that gap.”
Looking at the transfer moves that Lampard has made this season, it is not a stretch to say they will become a great team. They have signed Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz. This will continue to build a great offensive line. The only other focus Lampard has is to rebuild the defense. They haven’t had any major signings on defense this year. Chelsea is still trying to find another keeper that could swap out for Kepa Arrizabalaga since he’s unhappy with the team.
Although they aren’t league winners this year, next year has a lot of potential for them. They are most likely going to place fourth in the league and qualify for Champions League. If they can beat Liverpool on Wednesday, then it’s a guaranteed spot in the top four.
After their face-off with Liverpool, they will play the Wolves on July 26 for their last Premier League game of the season. If they can win that game, they will place in the top four.
The only other competitors are Leicester City and Man U. They both currently have 62 points with a goal differential of 28. If Man U can win their game against West Ham on Wednesday, then they will finally surpass Leicester. This would be a great thing for Man U when they go into their final game against Leicester. That final game will be the deciding factor on who will place in the top four.
Lampard’s rebuild is working. If the team can finish the season strong, then they will be set up well for next season. Maybe then, Chelsea will be in the same league as Liverpool.
