London: Chelsea manager Frank Lampard insisted his young squad will need time to develop after blowing a bright start to draw 1-1 at home to Leicester on Sunday.
Mason Mount gave Lampard the dream start on his first match in charge at Stamford Bridge after just seven minutes.
However, Chelsea failed to take advantage of their dominance in the opening quarter and could easily have lost the game after Wilfred Ndidi's equaliser for the Foxes as Leicester had by far the better chances.
Chelsea have now failed to win in each of Lampard's first three games as manager after losing 4-0 to Manchester United last weekend and on penalties to Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup in midweek.
"The first 25 minutes were fast, we had quality. We could have scored more goals and I was delighted at that start," said Lampard.
"It was up to us to keep that momentum up and we didn't. We needed to keep the pressure up and we didn't. There will always be things to work on, it's early on in the season but we have to remember we need to get points and improve."
Lampard has given the likes of Mount and Tammy Abraham a chance to shine with the Blues banned for signing new players this summer and wants his side to be more clinical.
"It's very early for us. We have to be patient as we are working towards something," he added.
"Two or three-nil would have taken the game away from them but we didn't take those chances. That's the story of our season so far. We need to be more clinical, for sure. It is defining."
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers was also disappointed at his side's failure to take their chances with James Maddison and Jamie Vardy missing great opportunities.
"I'm happy with the level of our football, the speed of our game and the only disappointment was we should've won the match," said Rodgers, who assumed responsibility for Ndidi's mistake that led to Mount's opener.
The Nigerian international was caught in possession on the edge of his own box, leaving Mount with just Kasper Schmeichel to beat.
"I'm disappointed with the goal, but I assume responsibility with that as I ask the players to build the game. When they make mistakes it is my fault."
SHEFFIELD EARN 1ST WIN ON LEAGUE COMEBACK
Sheffield United made a winning return to the Premier League at Bramall Lane as John Lundstram scored the only goal for a deserved 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Lundstram, who has spent the majority of his career on loan spells in England's lower leagues, blasted into an unguarded net after Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita could only parry a low cross into the box two minutes into the second-half.
Despite the slender margin of victory, Chris Wilder's men were well worthy of the three points as they built on a promising 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on the opening weekend of the season.
Palace were blunt in attack with Wilfried Zaha often outnumbered and they have yet to find the net this season.
David McGoldrick missed a glorious chance to put the hosts in front before half-time, but his prodded finish from point-blank range was too close to Spaniard Guaita.
However, the Blades quickly made their mark after the break when a purposeful run and cross by Luke Freeman fell perfectly for Lundstram to fire home.
Comments
0 comment