Frank Lampard lost his first game in charge of Chelsea 4-0 at the hands of Manchester United but since then the Blues have come a long way and right now some people even believe they have an outside chance of challenging Liverpool for the Premier League title.
This weekend though will be a pretty big test for the manager as Chelsea travel to the Etihad in order to take on Manchester City and this could very well be a make or break game for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
A win in this match will not only throw City out of the title race but at the same time, Frank Lampard will also gather a lot of confidence in challenging for the title.
But according to Pat Nevin, the manager will have to take a cue out of Maurizio Sarri’s book and avoid the basic mistakes which the Italian made last season.
“Manchester City are like no other club in England, not only because they have some of the best players in the world, at their best they play some of the best football on the planet too. In fact, their football against us last season at the Etihad was out of this world,” Nevin told the Chelsea website.
“Even so, I really feel this weekend is a good time to be facing the reigning champions, not because they are weak but because the belief within our own squad is so strong.
“Yet again Frank Lampard and the lads will know they are underdogs and upstarts against such an established outfit. Last season’s 6-0 hammering is still in the back of every supporter’s mind, but that is the case for every team that comes up against Pep’s side. They can do that if you are not careful, not organised and not at your very best defensively.
“When Maurizio Sarri took us up there last season I was very concerned. I knew he would want us to stand toe-to-toe with them. I felt it might be a naive and dangerous tactic.
“I can recall driving the four hours down to the game and telling my wife and son repeatedly, this could get very bad and if it is then we should all stick by the team, because that is what the travelling Chelsea fans do. They thought I was exaggerating or being negative but it was just realism.
“The question is, do I feel the same this week? Should we be wary or even scared of another thumping that might negatively affect our youngsters in particular? We have a younger side than last October and a young manager who is likely to put those lads out there with an even more open, attacking outlook than we did last season.
“That in itself suggests that naivety could once again be a concern. City are currently like a wounded animal, desperate to make amends for their mauling at Anfield two weeks ago. On top of this, the game is away from home where City only lost three games in the two previous Premier League campaigns.
“For us, this in many respects is just another test of how far we have come in such a short time. Even if we lost heavily, it would not be a disaster, it would simply show us how high the next step is.”
Chelsea travelled to the Eithad last season in the month of February and they ended up losing the match with a humiliating scoreline of 6-0.
This loss almost resulted in Sarri getting sacked but somehow the Italian managed to survive the rest of the campaign.
While Lampard will surely not be sacked even if Chelsea lose to Manchester City but still a defeat will surely deflate his team’s confidence.
