The 2019-20 season/Frank Lampard era at Chelsea FC has gotten off to a rough start with the Blues dropping both of their matches thus far. Chelsea got absolutely whomped by Manchester United in the Premier League season opener on Sunday before falling to Liverpool in a penalty shoot out on Wednesday in the UEFA Super Cup.
Next comes the home opener on Sunday against Brendan Rodgers’ plucky and gritty Leicester City side. Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic is saying all the right things at the moment, showing strong support for the two individuals who are getting scapegoated the most right now.
Though it has been just two games, some already have the pitchforks out for manager Frank Lampard, as the social media mobs are getting #LampardOut trending already. Although Lampard’s first team selection at United was suspect to say the least, he seems to be rapidly growing into the size of the job ahead of him and making necessary adjustments.
“It’s been great working with him,” Pulisic said of Lampard to the Evening Standard.
“We’ve learned a lot so far and I think you can see the team forming. We have a lot of great players which makes it easier. We’re on a good path.”
It’s not just Lampard feeling the heat right now. The Super Cup ended when Tammy Abraham shot and missed during his chance in the shootout.
Pulisic defended Abraham as well.
“We said to him ‘It’s penalties, man – somebody has to miss.’ He’s going to get his head up. Obviously it’s tough but penalties are like that,” Pulisic added.
“He can deal with it and he’ll be fine. He’ll move on, he’ll score a goal in the next game and everything will be forgotten. We’re there for him.”
The 20-year-old American international believes Chelsea is a lot better than the two results thus far have shown.
“It was harsh on us,” he said about the Super Cup result.
“A few things just didn’t go our way, a few decisions and in the end, to lose on penalties, that’s just how it goes. But we can be really proud of how we played.”
“I don’t feel that we had a fair result at Old Trafford either. We’ve been creating enough chances to win these games and we just have to keep going and keep fighting.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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