Managing Chelsea in the Premier League was always going to be an uphill battle for Frank Lampard, even after his strong managerial debut with Derby County last season. In the wake of their 4-0 demolition at the hands of Manchester United last weekend there was a certain expectation for the game against Leicester City last night. In the end, they failed to live up to expectations, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Foxes. Even with that being the case, however, Lampard seemed to be in fairly good spirits after the game.
“It felt great, it is a special moment for me to come back to the club and manage them at Stamford Bridge,” said Lampard.
A tough gig
“For me it is a huge thing, but my focus today was on the match and trying to win.
“Thanks very much to the fans, I appreciate that, but I am here to do a job and here to try and win for the club and we can do better than we did today.”
Mason Mount had given the Blues the lead early on in the game, with the home side really making the game their own for large periods of the first half. They weren’t able to make their dominance count even further, though, as they allowed Leicester to slowly but surely build their way back into things – with Ndidi nodding in the equaliser from a corner.
One way or the other
It was a pretty back and forth encounter from that point on, with both teams sharing the spoils. That almost certainly won’t be the kind of result that Chelsea were looking for, because their push for the top four is going to require fairly routine wins over teams like Leicester. Alas, Brendan Rodgers’ men have ambitions of their own, as they continue to try and push their way back into the discussion for European football.
Chelsea will now turn their attention towards Carrow Road next weekend as they prepare to go head to head with newly promoted Norwich City. Leicester, on the other hand, will also go to the home of a former Championship side when they take on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Match Report
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga (7), Emerson (8), Zouma (7), Christensen (6.5), Azpilicueta (7), Mount (8), Jorginho (6.5), Kante (7), Pulisic (6.5), Giroud (7), Pedro (6.5), Abraham (6), Kovacic (6), Willian (6)
Leicester: Schmeichel (7), Pereira (8), Evans (7), Soyuncu (7), Fuchs (6.5), Ndidi (7.5), Perez (6.5), Tielemans (6.5), Choudhury (6.5), Maddison (7), Vardy (6), Albrighton (6), Praet (6.5)
Referee: Oliver Langford
Goals: Mount :: Ndidi
Yellow Cards: Jorginho
Red Cards: N/A
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