This archive report was first published on 12 July 2020.
Chelsea's top four hopes are hanging by a thread after a dismal 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday, July 11.
Frank Lampard's side are now in danger of dropping to fifth in the standings, a prospect the Chelsea boss insists he is unfazed by, but admitted his players must turn up in the remaining matches.
Chelsea will take on already relegated Norwich on Tuesday, July 14, in a bid to strengthen their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
David McGoldrick scored a brace, while Oli McBurnie netted the third goal for the Blades, leaving Chelsea reeling.
"I'm not concerned so much about top four today. All I do is sit and watch all the games because of course I want to get there but today I'm concerned about how we performed," Lampard said in a post-match interview.
"I learned a lot about that. I'm not thinking we might be fifth, third or fourth or whatever – we'll see by the time those teams play. We cannot approach Norwich or Manchester United, Liverpool or Wolves in the same vein that we did today," he added.
Chelsea's performance was a far cry from what was expected, with Lampard hitting out at his players for their lack of effort.
"They were better than us. Better than us physically, better than us in the mind, better than us with the ball so you lose the game," he said.
