A
furious Frank Lampard said he will not forget the things he learned about
his Chelsea team after their toothless defeat at Sheffield United.
Chelsea travelled to Bramall Lane looking to tighten their grip on Champions
League qualification but were outplayed in every aspect of the game as the
Blades cruised to a 3-0 victory.
"They were better than us, they were stronger than us physically and with
the ball, so you lose the game," Lampard told Sky Sports.
"You feel and hear every noise [on the touchline] and all I could hear was
Sheffield United voices. They are a good team and if you come here and
perform below par this is what will happen.
"We matched them shape wise but were too slow and weren't getting our
wingers into the game. We tried to get control, which we did but weren't
threatening.
"At 2-0 down you make it difficult for yourselves. Disappointing. Mistakes.
You analyse all season and review and move forward. We need to put that to
bed quickly and fight for the top four. I learned a lot and I won't forget
that."
Chelsea remain third in the table after their second post-lockdown defeat,
but victories for Leicester and Manchester United could see the Blues drop
as low as fifth come Monday evening.
"I am not concerned about top four today," Lampard added. "Today I am
concerned with how we performed.
"All I do is sit and watch the games and consider what we want to do. We
will see where we are when we approach Norwich. But we can't approach
Norwich or Manchester United or Wolves like we did today."
Wilder continues to work wonders
For Sheffield United and Chris Wilder, a fourth consecutive home victory saw
them leapfrog Wolves into sixth place and move to within four points of
Manchester United to give their Europa League hopes another big boost.
"We were excellent, full value," Wilder told Sky Sports. "We had to defend
properly, the structure of the team was good, and we needed something going
the other way, and we did.
"It's been a tough schedule, and the quality of the teams we had at Bramall
Lane needed turning over. I'm delighted we've turned Chelsea over.
"We're into a rhythm, I've really enjoyed watching my team play because they
always give me the maximum they've got. As a manager, that is all you can
ask for."
Wilder: On to the next one
Wilder refused to be drawn on Sheffield United's top-four chances, insisting
their focus, as it has been all season, remains on the next fixture.
"My mantra is roll on to the next three points, and if you don't get them
roll on to the next game," he said.
"We really do keep things that short term. As soon as you get ahead of
yourself in this game you get burned. We've never had that attitude.
"We've had to do well to get into this position and we are certainly going
to have to do a lot of things well in the next games because they come thick
and fast.
"My players love playing in the Premier League and the attitude part is key,
but we have got some good players as well. We have players that want to
defend properly, put their bodies on the line, defend with structure and
identity, and the other way we've had something going forward."
McGoldrick breaks duck with double
The victory over Chelsea saw David McGoldrick finally add goals to the
selfless role he fills so well in Sheffield United's team.
The 32-year-old ended his 25-game wait for a top-flight goal with the
opener, and his second came after Oli McBurnie's first-half header to seal
the victory.
"Strikers need to score goals and we need to be more clinical," Wilder said.
"David understands that, but there are other aspects he brings to the team -
work-ethic, talent and he links the attack. He's a round peg in a round
hole.
"It's great that he's got off the mark, I just wish there were 30,000 in
this stadium because they would have taken the roof off tonight because they
know what he brings to the football club and I certainly know what he brings
to the team."
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