Frank Lampard admitted Chelsea deserved to lose after his side didn’t show “the basics of football” during the 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton.
The Blues faced a huge 26 shots in the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge, more than they have in any home match since records began during the 2003-04 season.
Striker Danny Welbeck equalised with a header after Conor Gallagher’s deflected shot opened the scoring, before Julio Enciso secured all three points with a stunning 25-yard strike.
Speaking after the match, Lampard was asked if this was the worst defeat of the three he has already suffered since returning to the club, particularly on his homecoming at Stamford Bridge: “It was the most deserved one.
“More than defeats, it’s the performance we have to talk about. Wins only come with performance and in terms of performance that was the most disappointing one because we were well beaten.
“In the basics of football — and it’s a really good Brighton team so we must give them credit, they’re a fantastic team and they can perform like that against pretty much anyone in the league — but we were short, a yard short, a tackle short, a fighting duel moment short, and when that’s not right you’re not going to win games.
“You have to have the capacity to do that as well, as well as the desire and at the minute we’re falling short on that and we have to turn it around quickly.
“It’s not for me to talk about where the intensity and aggression is coming from, but it’s for me to try to get to the bottom of it quickly and change it. We need training time but we don’t have it, so the response has to be what you see on the pitch, particularly with Tuesday coming.
“The things that are a must in a performance for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, against Brighton who can play, are sprints, recovery runs, getting up to people and recovering, and then when you get the ball to stick to ideas you want to stick to, and we came away from that, the capacity wasn’t there.”
Chelsea didn’t show much that will worry Real Madrid, who will arrive to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night with a two-goal advantage after victory at Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final.
Lampard said only the support of the club’s fans is a guarantee at the moment, with the defeat not ideal preparation even as he rested the likes of Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante. The duo are expected to be fit but their return is being carefully managed after recent injuries.
“There can be some mitigating factors at the moment with some of the change,” Lampard said. “It can’t be an excuse. It just has to be a factor you fight against to get where you want to be.
“I don’t want to go ‘please come and support us positively’, I know [the fans] will do that. We have to play with that energy and fight. That’s the bare minimum. Of course organisation against Real Madrid, they’re a top team.
“It’s up to us, nothing is on the fans for this one, it’s up to us as a squad in terms of the game on Tuesday.
“From today’s performance, it’s clear. I’m not going to dress up today’s performance. I don’t think the players would want me to. I’m not hanging the players out to dry because I see there’s talent in that room. It’s the Premier League so you have to have the extra bits and we were short of those today.”
