Lampard: Mistakes cost us at West Ham

The Chelsea manager blames his side’s lack of attention to detail for a surprise Premier League loss on Wednesday.

Published : Jul 02, 2020 10:45 IST

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard reacts at the conclusion of the contest in London on Wednesday. - GETTY IMAGES

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard blamed his side’s lack of attention to detail for a surprise 3-2 defeat at Premier league relegation battler West Ham United on Wednesday.

Lampard’s side dominated for long periods but was stunned late on when Andriy Yarmolenko slotted home an 89th-minute winner following a counter-attack by the home side. Chelsea could have moved into third spot and taken a huge step towards ensuring a Champions League berth with a victory but instead is fourth and is only two points above in-form Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“It happens, it is the Premier League ... we dominated the game in terms of possession, but make mistakes and teams will hurt you,” Lampard said. “I’m not happy with any of the goals. There were details in the game which we knew, but we lost because we didn’t get them right.”

Second league defeat

After beating Manchester City last week and then winning at Leicester City at the weekend to reach the FA Cup semifinals, Chelsea was in a buoyant mood ahead of the derby. But its fine run since the resumption of the season came to a shuddering halt as it suffered a second league defeat of the season against lowly West Ham.

ALSO READ | Guardiola plans Man City rebuild for title challenge

Willian gave it the lead from the penalty spot but goals by Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio either side of the break put West Ham ahead, before Willian’s sweet free kick levelled it up.

 

Chelsea was pushing for a winner when it was caught out by substitute Yarmolenko.

“It is why we are fighting for top four not one or two, because we don’t get things right as much as the big boys do,” Lampard said. “I am not happy with tonight but at the same time we are two points ahead of Manchester United, who have been going great for some time.

“I think at times we have played really well this season. As a group we need to find more consistency.”