Chelsea’s three-two defeat to West Ham last-night had a bittersweet feeling to it, with the sweet side being Willian’s two well taken goals from set-plays. The first of which was a penalty sending West Ham goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski, the wrong way.
Adding to that, was another solid performance from the Blues American international, Christian Pulisic, who once again made a nuisance of himself.
But three, on the face of it, lapses of concentration cost the team from SW6 all three points. Although, nothing can be taken away from what was a much-improved performance from David Moyes’s West Ham side.
Looking forward
In reaction to the defeat, Lampard, who was speaking to Chelsea’s in house press core, stated that although it is frustrating to lose a game in the manner they did, it isn’t necessarily a wake-up call, as everyone on his side is well aware that in the Premier League, these things can happen.
He said: “I would not call it a wake-up call, because every game is different.
“We have six games ahead of us now and this was not a huge surprise as if you play in the Premier League and you make mistakes, if you dominate possession but you don’t quite do enough with it in the top end of the pitch, then it can happen.
“That is already something that we knew, and we have to accept it now, it is done, we move onto the six games ahead of us”.
Defending his defence
The former Blues and Hammers midfielder was also quick to defend his backline, with one member of it in particular, Marcos Alonso, coming under scrutiny for his lacklustre retreating run in the build-up to West Ham’s winner.
He continued: “We made mistakes in the build-up to the goals, not just defenders, which cost us the game.”
There will be an added sense of frustration on Lampard’s mind following this defeat, as only a week ago he would’ve have been looking back at his side’s best performance under his stewardship, during the two-one victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Missed opportunity
To pile on the misery even more, however, was the knowledge that Chelsea could’ve moved into the coveted third-place position, had they have won.
Lampard, reflecting on missed opportunities, noted that it is an all too familiar feeling, with his side having failed to jump above teams when given the opportunity, at various times during this campaign.
He added: “It is something that has happened a few times this season, we have had the opportunity to close gaps or jump over teams.
“That is the sign of where we are, we have a lot of hard work to do to get to where we want to be and that is the reason the rest of us are chasing Liverpool and Man City, because of the consistency they have developed over time.”
He was, however, resurgent when asked where it leaves the Blues mentally after this defeat, with their all-time leading goal scorer stating that it is how they move forward and perform from now that counts.
He stated: “If we are in that position, it is how you bounce back, how you move forward.
“We now have Watford at the weekend and games after that to try to carry on.
“We have to realise the position we are in in terms of fighting for the Champions League places and move forward.”