Chelsea slumped to a shock 3-0 loss at the hands of Sheffield United on Saturday meaning they are going to have a nerve-wracking end to the Premier League season.
With Man City set to play in the Champions League next campaign, only the top four teams will get into the top division of Europe meaning either Chelsea, Leicester or Manchester United are going to miss out.
The loss to the Blades come after a series of positive results and there has been a buzz that this rather unexpected loss might force the Blues to drop even more points in the coming weeks.
But according to pundit Paul Merson, the defeat at the hands of Sheffield United might help Frank Lampard recalibrate a number of important things going into the final few matches of the season.
The pundit wrote for Sky Sports: “I think Frank Lampard will have found out a lot about his players and himself at Sheffield United.
“Going there is always going to be a difficult game; they’re going to get the ball wide, into the box, they’re going to close you down… it’s not going to be enjoyable.
“He sets up in midfield with Jorginho, Ross Barkley and Mason Mount. When are you getting the ball back? How are you getting the ball back?
“They had a lot of the ball, but it’s not the 70 per cent of the ball they had, it’s the 30 per cent they don’t have that is most important.
“For my 70 per cent you’ve got Willian, Christian Pulisic, Barkley, Mount, but it’s too open in midfield. The defence get the blame, but you could be Costacurta, Baresi, Maldini, if you don’t have strong midfield players in front of you, you’re just going to have people run at you left, right and centre.
“That’s what Sheffield United do to you, they get in your face. I think Frank learned a lot about the way the players just accepted the way the game was going.
“But they’re still well in it with Leicester getting beat, but they have to bounce back. They can’t crash now with three games remaining; it’s a huge two weeks for Frank Lampard now.”
Chelsea will undoubtedly have to win each and every remaining match if they wish to play in the Champions League next season but that will much easier said than done since they still have to face Liverpool and Wolves.
Next up, they welcome Norwich City at home and Lampard will surely be looking to put the woes of the Sheffield United loss behind him and pick up all three points on Tuesday.
