Bad Start For Frank Lampard As Chelsea Woes Continue
Frank Lampard will have to tinker a lot in a few days if he wants Chelsea to be able to surprise Real Madrid at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, they suffered yet another defeat in the Premier League with barely a shot on target.
Julen Lopetegui’s side had the game under control ever since Matheus Nunes volleyed home in the first half.
The first 45 minutes were a time of despair for the Blues. With a somewhat asymmetrical 4-3-3 in attack (a lot of freedom for Joao Felix, Havertz and Sterling), they were clearly outplayed by a Wolverhampton side with more settled ideas.
Lopetegui won the first round and Matheus Nunes, with a superb goal, made it 1-0 just before half-time.
Chelsea, who hardly troubled Jose Sa at Molineux, did not control the game… nor were they able to move with speed on the counter-attacks. The only bright spots, and in an eminently defensive context, were Koulibaly and Fofana, who acted as front men clearing numerous balls.
After the break, we saw a better Chelsea… but they didn’t touch excellence either. Not even close. Joao Felix tried to pull the strings and called for a penalty in the 56th minute. The handball seemed clear but neither the referee nor the VAR shared the Portuguese’s opinion. A couple of minutes later, a very hard tackle by Joao Gomes on the Atletico loanee only resulted in a yellow card despite Joao’s complaints.
From then on, little else happened. Chelsea tried to pour forward but it was a relatively easy game for Lopetegui’s side to defend.
This defeat is Chelsea’s 11th in the 2022/23 Premier League, more than wins (10) or draws (9). In fact, relegation (12 points behind) is closer than the Champions League right now for Chelsea.
