Premier League: Did Lampard’s tactics cost Chelsea at Stamford Bridge?

Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday against the defending champions Liverpool after going10 men down.

The Blues were hard done by when Andreas Christensen made a bad decision that led to the only red card of the match, a blunder by Kepa Arrizabalaga, and the penalty miss by Jorginho.

Liverpool were favorites going into the game against Chelsea despite them playing away from Anfield. Though the Reds were brilliant, it was Frank Lampard’s tactical errors that costed the Blues on Sunday.

Against Liverpool, Mateo Kovacic returned to the starting XI replacing Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the lineup. The addition of the Croatian was supposed to give the additional stability in the midfield. It was wrong to replace Loftus Cheek in the starting lineup as Kovacic looked a bit off the pace.

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The former RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner was fielded as the lone striker by the manager and went up against the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho.

Lampard left Olivier Giroud on the bench who could have proved a better asset at the top end of the pitch because of his physicality and ability to win aerial balls. He would have been able to trouble the Reds makeshift CB, Fabinho.

With Kovacic, N Golo Kante, and Jorginho playing similar styles of football, it deprived Timo Werner of supply from the middle of the park. Kai Havertz was a non-existent figure in the first half and was subbed off at the start of the second.

It was one more error to substitute the attacking midfielder who was bought for a record fee from Bayer Leverkusen. Havertz’s started on the right flank, which has affected his performance for the second successive game. On top of these tactical oversights, Jorginho’s penalty miss contributed to Chelsea’s share of bad decisions.

Werner won the penalty after Thiago Alcantara clipped his ankle. Although Jorginho has a 100% record in converting penalties as a Blue, it would have been a better option to go with Werner to take it. He too has a 100% conversion rate from the spot.

Moreover, fielding Kepa Arrizabalaga over Willy Caballero has once again raised plenty of questions. Caballero played a pivotal role at the end of 2019/20 season, handing Chelsea Champions League qualification.

Kepa’s inability to keep himself clear of mistakes in consecutive games might have put a full stop to his goalkeeping career at Stamford Bridge. The Spanish shot-stopper will be the second choice goalkeeper at Bridge, despite Lampard reiterating his stance over the goalkeeper conundrum.

It’s been just two games for Chelsea in the Premier League and the new signings require time to adjust to the new environment. However, Lampard should tweak his tactics. Can the Blues go all the way in 2020/21?