The ax has fallen. Far from the podium and its standing, Chelsea acted on Monday for the failure of their coach Frank Lampard (42 years old) by landing the former glory of Stamford Bridge a month before the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The former charismatic midfielder of the Blues (2001-2014), named in July2019 on the bench of his heart club, did not stand up to the bad results which plagued the London club in the league, where he moped in the ninth square. A change is needed to give the club time to improve performance and results this season, explained Chelsea in a press release.
Under contract until 2022, he could be replaced by another quadragnaire, the German Thomas Tuchel, according to information provided by several sports media. The 47-year-old technician has been free from any commitment since his ousting from Paris SG at the end of December.
Very difficult decision
Lampard’s comeback therefore comes to an end after a year and a half: the disappointing results since the start of the season, despite the substantial means put in by the owner Roman Abramovich, got the better of him. In the press release, the businessman mentioned a very difficult decision. However, under the current circumstances, we believe it is better to change the framework, he writes.
In the league, Chelsea are eleven points behind leaders Manchester United and five over Liverpool, the current owner of the fourth and last qualifying place in C1. The start of the year 2021 did not contribute to the expected recovery, defeats against Manchester City (3-1) and Leicester (2-0) were only mitigated by a narrow 1-0 victory in mid-January against the poorly classified Fulham. The situation is not hopeless but the race for the podium seems slightly compromised.
The Champions League will be the future major chance that the next coach will face. On February 23, the English must indeed negotiate a high-risk trip to Atltico Madrid on behalf of the 8th leg. In the meantime, he will be able to shed his management in fairly affordable league matches, except for the clash against Tottenham scheduled for 4 February.
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