Goal.com
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has been left to rue his side’s defensive frailties after a 3-2 defeat against West Ham on Wednesday at the London Stadium.
After Leicester’s defeat to Everton earlier in the day, the Blues had the opportunity to move to third in the Premier League with a victory.
Although they took the lead through a Willian penalty, they were pegged back by a header from Tomas Soucek and trailed early in the second half when Michail Antonio tapped in. The Brazilian responded with a free kick but as the Blues chased victory, they were caught on the counterattack as Andriy Yarmolenko fired home a late winner.
It left the former England midfielder frustrated with the standard of his side’s defensive work.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the story of our season, but there have been so many of these moments,” he said. “We had a good restart, three good results, and tonight we had the opportunity to go third.
“In a match like this, you have to do every part of the game well. You can dominate possession, which we did for most of the game, but if there are moments where you switch off, if you make one or two errors that lead to them scoring a goal that lets them go in 1-1 at half-time, you’re going to encourage teams on. I’ve been there and I’m aware of it.
“The players have to show a bit of extra mentality and do the extra things that let you see a game through.”
Looking at his side’s situation in the league, he commented to Sky Sports: “We are two points ahead of Manchester United, who have been playing fantastic and are on a great run, Wolves are having a great season and they’re behind us, Leicester have had a great season and we’re just behind them.
“It’s about perspective. We are upset because we wanted to win the game, we’re footballers and we’re in a good position. So there’s no point in being down but I can’t help but say the truth today which is that it’s a game we should have won tonight.”
Chelsea will attempt to bounce back against Watford on Saturday.
