“I feel for him” - Frank Lampard suggests 22-year-old star is not Chelsea level after FA Cup loss to Manchester City
Frank Lampard has questioned if Nicolas Jackson is on the level Chelsea need their striker to be. The former Blues manager claimed that the Senegalese striker did well to get into good positions, but was not able to get the final decision right.
The Blues suffered a 1-0 loss against Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals on Saturday, April 20.
Speaking on BBC, Lampard claimed that the Chelsea forward was doing well on the pitch, but just could not get the final shot away. He added that the missed header should have been easily converted and said (via Metro):
"I feel for him a little bit because he made lots of good movement, he's a young striker, the attributes we saw in him today where he's racing Kyle Walker, he's shown pace, he's shown good movement but there's a technical detail there, the extra touch, the decision making at the highest level in these highest level of games are the difference."
"The header, you hit anywhere but his body it's a goal. Little decision making, I feel for him, we've all been there, we've all missed chances and it's a critical one for the game. But as a young player that's the level that you have to be a striker for Chelsea."
Jackson had five chances to score for the Blues against Manchester City, but failed to convert any of them. Mauricio Pochettino's side ended up losing 1-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal.
Alan Shearer blasts Chelsea star after Manchester City loss
Alan Shearer was also not impressed with Nicolas Jackson and claimed that the forward had a poor day at the office. He added that it has been the same story for the new signing in the Premier League and said (via Metro):
"Poor day at the office for him. It's been a similar theme all season for Chelsea, you heard Poch before the game saying that he feels as if they should be in and around fourth position [in the Premier League] but because of the xG, this is exactly what he's on about. Three wonderful chances he's [Jackson] had, two one-on-ones, he never really looked comfortable, made the wrong decision, made some really clever runs but he never looked comfortable. They're absolute sitters, they really are."
Chelsea next face Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday night. A win at Emirates would see them jump to seventh place, above Manchester United and level on points with sixth-placed Newcastle United.