Frank
Lampard demanded more from Chelsea despite his side reaching the FA Cup
semi-finals with a 1-0 win at Leicester.
Ross Barkley’s third FA Cup goal of the season earned the Blues victory at
the King Power Stadium.
However, Lampard was unhappy with his side's first-half display, making a
triple substitution at the break with Barkley, Cesar Azpilicueta and Mateo
Kovacic coming on.
It changed the flow of the game as the visitors took control to go through,
but Lampard knows they must be better.
"I don't think we've played that badly this season for 45 minutes," he said.
"We've played better and lost games.
"I could have made more or different subs. We needed to drag ourselves out
of a lethargic performance and we did.
“We were fortunate to be 0-0 at half-time and we must learn from little
mistakes from the game.
“I don’t want to sound too down because it’s important to show you’ve got
the grit to get a 1-0 win when you don’t play well. It looks like I’m
criticising but it’s positive because it’s not the norm for us.”
Leicester, without the injured James Maddison, struggled to get Jamie Vardy
in the game.
Goalkeeper Willy Caballero saved from Wilfred Ndidi while Jonny Evans
glanced wide as they edged the first half. But Kasper Schmeichel needed to
save well from Christian Pulisic after 30 minutes.
Barkley, Azpilicueta and Kovacic replaced Mason Mount, Billy Gilmour and
Reece James at half-time and Chelsea immediately improved.
Tammy Abraham had a goal ruled out for offside before Barkley struck after
63 minutes, sweeping in Willian’s excellent cross.
Lampard: Barkley a big player for Chelsea
“I played with Ross and he is a great lad. His attitude has been spot on in
training since the minute we’ve been back,” said Lampard, who confirmed
Pulisic came off with a calf problem.
“He was unfortunate not to start against Villa and since then he has made an
impact in every game he has played.
“He is reaping the benefits. I’ve got a lot of time for Ross and he is a big
player for us.”
Rodgers remains upbeat despite defeat
Caglar Soyuncu saw a header deflect over, Leicester’s best chance, but the
Foxes must wait another year for a chance to win a first FA Cup.
They have drawn their opening two Premier League games of the restart but
despite being knocked out of the FA Cup, boss Brendan Rodgers remained
upbeat.
“That was much more like us, in terms of tempo and speed and pressing. We
know we can score goals but in these first three games we just haven’t been
as clinical,” said Rodgers, who admitted Maddison will be a doubt for
Wednesday’s trip to Everton with a hip problem.
“It’s disappointing to go out but there are positives. I feel for the
players because I think they deserved more than that.
“The players have maintained that belief in themselves and we just couldn’t
make the breakthrough. It was much more like us and we looked a real threat.
That final pass or effort wasn’t falling for us.
“We need to show more conviction, but we have shown all season we can score.
It’s a performance which will give us more confidence going forward.”
FA Cup semi-final draw: Man Utd vs
Chelsea, Arsenal vs Man City
Manchester United have been drawn to face Chelsea in the semi-finals of the
FA Cup, with Arsenal playing holders Manchester City.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United side play Frank Lampard's Chelsea in a repeat
of the 2018 final, which was won by the Blues.
Manchester City beat Newcastle to set up a last-four meeting against record
13-time winners Arsenal.
Both semi-finals on the weekend of July 18/19 and the final on August 1 are
scheduled to be held at Wembley Stadium behind closed doors.
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