This archive report was first published on 19 August 2019.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is facing a baptism of fire in his first season as the Blues boss, with the team struggling to find their footing in the Premier League.
After a 1-1 draw against Leicester on Sunday, Lampard admitted that fatigue was a factor in the team's performance, particularly after their draining penalty shoot-out defeat against Liverpool in the European Super Cup on Wednesday.
"I hate the tiredness excuse but it has to be a factor in the second half," Lampard said. "If that is a factor we can take that out of it by being better on the ball so we don't have to run as much."
Despite the team's early dominance, Chelsea wilted in the second half, failing to capitalize on their lead and allowing Leicester to equalize through Wilfred Ndidi's header.
Lampard was critical of his team's performance, saying that they left too many spaces and failed to manage the game better.
"We have to have more personality, we saw that in midweek, but today we didn't have that," Lampard said. "There's game management. We have to be tougher. There are some real lessons from today."
With just one year of managerial experience at second-tier Derby last season, Lampard knows he is facing a tough challenge with Chelsea, who are currently under a transfer ban and have lost key player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.
