How did Chelsea go from sacking Lampard to title contenders?

By Oli Dickson Jefford

Yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge will undoubtedly be hugely frustrating for league leaders Chelsea.

The Blues dominated the vast majority of the match, but were forced to fight from a goal down after Jorginho’s mistake saw Jadon Sancho counter and put Man Utd in front.

Jorginho did make amends by scoring the penalty which ultimately saw points shared, but it still feels like a missed opportunity.

However, they are still at the top of the table and are miles ahead of where they were a year ago towards the end of Frank Lampard’s time as manager.

What went wrong for Lampard?

Lampard is perhaps the greatest player in Chelsea history and may well return to the dugout with more experience one day, but this stint came too soon in his managerial journey.

His first season was solid, guiding the club to fourth in the table - only missing out on third spot on goal difference - and taking his side all the way to the FA Cup final, where they lost to Arsenal.

And things did start brightly in 2020-21, as they started their Champions League campaign strongly and at one point were top of the league table.

However, things quickly went south with a run of just two wins in eight league matches seeing Chelsea fall down to ninth in the table.

That run included losses to Everton, Wolves, Arsenal, Manchester City and Leicester, and Lampard’s inexperience was exposed in several of those matches.

His set-up meant that Chelsea were too easily cut open at the back and struggled to create enough chances to score goals; Jorginho was their top scorer in the league by the end of the season despite only scoring seven times.

Lampard was sacked shortly after victory in his final game, a 3-1 FA Cup win over Luton, and Thomas Tuchel was brought in very shortly afterwards.

And, it’s fair to say Tuchel has made a huge difference….

Tuchel turnaround

The biggest difference between Tuchel and Lampard is definitely experience; while Lampard had spent a year at Derby before heading to Stamford Bridge, Tuchel had managed some of the best clubs in the world.

And he immediately made Chelsea more defensively sound, as the side only lost twice more in the league last season following his arrival.

He also started to get the best out of some of Chelsea’s key players, most notably his compatriot and record signing Kai Havertz.

The 22-year-old had a slow start to life in south west London and still probably can improve, but he looks miles better under Tuchel than he did under Lampard.

Tuchel’s side are now creating many more chances and are scoring a lot more, with a league-high 15 different goalscorer in the league this season.

He’s also brought the best out of the likes of Reece James and Ben Chilwell, both of whom have been among the best players in the league this season.

Chilwell’s ACL injury while in the form of his life is a cruel blow to him and the club, but James will likely continue to be a hugely important player for his boyhood club this year.

Tuchel has also been instrumental in revitalising the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley, who are now back in the fold after it previously looked like they were on their way out.

While he’s also been able to bring in new blood like Trevoh Chalobah and get Callum Hudson-Odoi back to near his best.

Title charge: on

Despite what will be a disappointing result yesterday, Chelsea are still top of the table by one point and are in a far better position than they were at the start of 2021.

Tuchel has brought a new energy and passion to the club - and no Chelsea fan would let you forget that he also brought a second Champions League title to Stamford Bridge in May.

Things will certainly be tough in the league with Man City just a point below them, and Liverpool not too far behind either.

However, Chelsea fans should certainly be optimistic about the path they’re on under their German manager.

Photo Credit: Getty Images