LONDON – Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard was happy to see his side finally playing like a team, after they snapped a nine-match winless run in all competitions with a 3-1 Premier League victory at Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Blues have looked a fractured outfit after numerous arrivals under three different managers this season, but they showed glimpses of finally gelling together as a unit to end a six-match losing run.
While they are still 11th in the Premier League with four games left, Lampard said the win would be a boost as they look to end the season on a high after just their second away victory in 2023.
“I’m happy. We came in off the back of a tough run, it’s been a tough year and there is a lot of work to do,” he said, after the win which also meant Chelsea are mathematically safe from relegation.
“But the performance and the result are really good, we deserved to win the game. It’s a nice step forward for the lads. To work hard and come to a place that has been very hard for a lot of teams this year... I’m very happy.
“It’s important that the players feel they can come in and affect the game. We’ve worked towards that and every one of them did.”
Lampard also said there were still a lot of players finding their feet, especially youngsters, and urged them to “grasp” confidence from the performance.
“Typically at Chelsea, one or two have fed into the group but now we have more. It’s understandable that as a group finding rhythm and confidence can be difficult,” he added.
“This is a first step. It won’t be plain sailing and the players need to come together to get us to where we want to be.”
The Blues had looked shaky in the early stages of the game as Bournemouth had two opportunities to go ahead in the first five minutes, before Conor Gallagher scored with a well-timed run and header to give the visitors the lead.
Chelsea were pegged back in the 21st minute when the Cherries played a delightful sequence of one-touch passes to set up Matias Vina, who curled his shot into the top corner. In the 82nd minute, Hakim Ziyech delivered the ball from a free kick to the far post where Benoit Badiashile beat Neto to score his first goal for the club.
That gave them a lift and they quickly made it 3-1 to seal the three points when Raheem Sterling went on a driving run into the box before poking the ball to fellow substitute Joao Felix, who finished with ease.
Chelsea’s next game is at home against 18th-placed Nottingham Forest on Saturday, but tougher tests await with their last three games of the season against Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United. REUTERS, AFP
