Chelsea 1-1 Leicester City: 3 Tactics from Lampard that cost Chelsea the game
For Frank Lampard, the nervousness hovering around Stamford Bridge before Sunday's game was a reminder that he was already walking a tightrope. The Blues were known for their limited patience in handling under-performing managers, and the Englishman's start to life as the Chelsea boss had been underwhelming. While there had been a lot of factors which caused two back to back defeats in his first two competitive games, Football was a results-oriented business. And being a Football Manager can sometimes be a thankless job.
As such, the Englishman knew that he had to win the home game against Leicester City on Sunday to breathe easy. However, Lampard was also aware that the Foxes could be a tough nut to crack, even away from home, and named his team accordingly.
Kepa Arrizabalaga continued in goal, while the back four consisted of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Emerson. N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mason Mount made up a three-man midfield while Pedro and Christian Pulisic started either side of Olivier Giroud in the attack.
In the end, though, Frank Lampard was undone by a resolute Leicester City side who stormed back into the game in the second half to score the equalizer. The game ended 1-1, as Leicester clearly were the better side among the two. The Englishman will be troubled by his team second-half performance, but here are three tactics used by Frank Lampard which cost Chelsea the game.
#3 Trying to absorb Leicester pressure in the second half
Even though the Chelsea defense looked nervous every time Leicester City piled men forward, Lampard decided to play on the counter-attack in the second half. Since Chelsea had the lead in the game, this was a tactic that made sense, however, there was an inherent risk associated with the plan.
It was clear from the previous two games that the Chelsea defense was extremely weak, and was missing a leader at the back. Both Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen are novices who still seem to have a mistake in them. When Lampard decided to play on the counter, he was willing to let his team allow Leicester to come at them. While attempting this, Chelsea lost control of the game and failed to absorb Leicester City pressure. The opposition had a lot of chances to score, and ultimately found the back of the net from a corner.