Frank Lampard had to deal with a double injury blow ahead of Chelsea’s midweek fixture against Manchester United. The Chelsea legend has been given the task of integrating youngsters from the Chelsea youth academy into the first team and he has done it successfully so far. Chelsea are currently 4th in the Premier League table after 10 match-days and also sit on top of their Champions League group.
When asked what will be the possible lineup for the upcoming fixtures, he replied, “You want me to name the team? I have to be aware that we have not changed that much. That is my prerogative and the team is going pretty well.”
“This game may be an opportunity for the players not playing – not to do with age, more to do with minutes in games – might mean some of the more experienced ones playing.
He confirmed that N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger would be missing the clash due to injuries. When asked,
(Kante fit?) “No.”
(Rudiger?) “No.”
A Marcus Rashford penalty and a wonderful freekick sealed a 1-2 victory for Manchester United at the Stamford Bridge on the midweek fixture in the round-of-16 clash of the Football League Cup. Michy Batshuayi scored for the blues in the 61st minute but that wasn’t enough to carry them through to the next round.
In the post-match presser Lampard said the following:
We have had seven wins on the trot. We have had some taxing games in the Champions League and it is important for the club that we get into the next stage of that competition. We have got a few tough games coming up and our form in the league has been very good. It is quite clear that they are the priorities, let us get it right. But we want to win football matches, we want to win everything. When it comes to today I have to look at my squad and people who deserve minutes, young players who are going to have big futures for us to get minutes. I think the competition can have an element of that for us but also that we want to win and be successful. There were a lot of things that were good for us in the future, not as much as in previous games but positive things. I hate losing, we all do here, but it is clear that there is a big picture, a lot of games to come and a busy fixture list. Now we just move on.
He also gave an update on Kante’s comeback stating:
“He is going to hopefully join training in the next two or three days. Hopefully. He is important, he is a top player. I would have liked to give Jorginho in particular and Kovacic a rest tonight as well because of what they have been putting in, the endurance of the season, but I could not because of N’Golo, Ross and Ruben out long-term. He is on the road but a fair way away.”
“We could not make those changes I would have wanted to today but it is what it is.”
Well, Chelsea pulled off a narrow 2-1 win over Watford away from home on Saturday. However, they would be disappointed by the fact that they were eliminated from the EFL Cup in midweek.
However, one benefit that this would give the Blues is that their players will get enough rest. They do not have enough squad depth at present and an additional cup competition that is of not too much value would only be a distraction for the Londoners. Everything happens for a reason and the fans would surely not be too upset about the loss.
