da jogodeouro： Frank Lampard’s second spell at Chelsea has started in dismal fashion.
da betway： There may well be a greater sense of optimism surrounding the club compared to the days of Graham Potter but at the moment, it very much feels as though the former Ostersunds boss is still at the helm.
Indeed, Lampard’s tenure has begun with consecutive defeats in which the Blues have failed to score.
That has been the story of Todd Boehly’s time as owner of Chelsea, with the west Londoners having found the net just 29 times in 30 Premier League outings, despite a spend of over £260m in the transfer market.
It’s fine evidence that money doesn’t buy you trophies. Instead, you need to meticulously go about your business in the market, purchasing players to suit a system.
At the moment, it doesn’t feel as though the Stamford Bridge outfit have any system or identity, with the two-time Champions League winners set to face another season away from Europe’s premier competition.
The only chance they have of securing a spot is if they win the tournament again this time around, although that now seems unlikely after a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio were enough for Carlo Ancelotti’s men who took full advantage of the hapless Kepa between the Chelsea sticks and Ben Chilwell’s second-half red card.
While both of those men are likely to take much of the blame for the loss in Spain, substitute Marc Cucurella also had a night to forget at the Bernabeu.
How did Cucurella play against Real Madrid?
Lampard threw the £175k-per-week left-back into the fray as a sub after the interval but the former Derby County boss must have been wishing he didn’t bother.
Indeed, Cucurella also had a part to play in Chilwell’s sending-off.
The Spaniard was clearly caught asleep in the middle of the pitch after being dragged wildly out of position by Rodrygo.
The Brazilian then cleverly span in behind, latching on to Fede Valverde’s delightful clipped ball, leaving Cucurella in his wake.
As a consequence, Chilwell was forced to dart back into the position the summer signing had vacated, leaving himself as the last man. Of course, the England international didn’t need to pull the Madrid star back, but he was arguably left with very little choice.
That moment ultimately proved to be key on the night, with the 24-year-old – who had fewer touches than Kepa during the game – criticised heavily by pundits and journalists alike.
The ever-outspoken Jamie O’Hara labelled the wing-back a “disgrace” for having “killed” Chelsea’s momentum while Chris Sutton suggested the former Brighton man had been “schooled” by Rodrygo prior to the red card.
The defender’s overall game was aptly summed up by BBC Sport’s Raj Chohan who noted: “Cucurella’s aggression is such an issue. Always mistiming his jumps out of the back 3. And doesn’t have the recovery pace to get back into position when it gets played around him.”
This isn’t the first time the 5 foot 8 ace has disappointed recently, with his shocking back pass being the reason Ollie Watkins was able to score in the defeat to Aston Villa a few weeks ago.
Cucurella’s drop-off in performance in the space of seven months or so has been remarkable. Only last season was he being eyed by Manchester City after his defensive partnership with Tariq Lamptey was described as “one of the best full-back pairings” in the entire league by Goal’s Mitch Wilks.
The £60m signing has clearly been a shadow since that review, with the ex-Getafe man set to go down as pound for pound one of the worst acquisitions in Chelsea’s recent history.