Frank Lampard said his Chelsea players should “absolutely enjoy a beer or glass of wine” after sealing their first win since March 11 with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.
Since returning to the club as caretaker manager last month, Lampard came into the match at the Vitality Stadium having overseen six abject defeats, with Chelsea’s season of turmoil under new owner Todd Boehly drawing to a dreadful close.
But the Blues avoided a joint club-record seventh straight defeat by prevailing over their hosts in the wind and rain on the south coast.
Conor Gallagher’s header put the Blues ahead, before the Cherries struck back through Matias Vina’s pearler, which crashed in off the post.
The second half was a quiet affair on the first, but Lampard’s substitutions did the trick with late sub Hakim Ziyech crossing for Benoit Badiashile to convert. Then two more substitutes combined when Raheem Sterling burst forward and played sideways for Joao Felix to put some gloss on the scoreline.
“Absolutely they should have a beer and a glass of win tonight, or whatever they do,” Lampard said. Then asked whether he would follow suit, Lampard admitted: “Yeah for sure – on the coach now!”
Speaking about his side’s victory, Lampard revealed: “In the days between games, we can’t work much. But we can talk and have meetings. Bournemouth will always give you some problems here. They are a good team. I think we controlled it.
“We had a lot of overloads on the side of the pitch. You have to be more killers at the top end of the pitch. At the minute we haven’t got that. Our fans were fantastic today, so I personally appreciate their support. It’s important to build a connection between players and fans. Hakim and Raheem have maybe underperformed at times this season, but I think their form is temporary and class is permanent.”
Reflecting on the mood in the opening days and weeks of his caretaker role, Lampard admitted: “There was a lot of picking up that needed to be done, and the lads are all human. We’re all affected in similar ways when you’re not winning. The only way to get past that is to fight and to work through it. It will be the fight of the players that will make them stronger.
“I know that the fans will stick with this club. There’s not a club of anywhere near our size that hasn’t had a transitional period.”
