Football
ESPN 4y

Frank Lampard frustrated by Chelsea lapses vs. Arsenal in derby draw

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard lamented his side's defensive lapses in their 2-2 draw against Arsenal on Tuesday night, saying the Blues suffered by losing focus on their fundamentals.

Hector Bellerin grabbed a last-gasp equaliser for 10-man Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday as the visitors recovered from a first-half David Luiz red card to peg back the Blues twice in a pulsating London derby.

"You have got to do the basics right. Get all the details right. We got one wrong, with the first one. And the second one was soft, soft for a right-back to cut inside and score into the bottom corner," Lampard said. "You have to be real about it and honest about it that they had two shots, the breakaway in the first one and the second one late in the game, and they scored two goals."

Lampard said his team should have had better control after Luiz's red card but admitted Arsenal took the initiative against their rivals.

"That is what they should do in a London derby," Lampard said. "The initiative should be on us to be really ruthless about doing the right things, moving the ball quick enough, take chances when they come along. I think we moved it quick enough at times but didn't take our chances when they came."

The draw keeps Chelsea in fourth place in the table but will rue the opportunity to get the three points, especially after losing to Newcastle last week.

"We're in fourth position which is pretty good, but I know and we know there should be another 10 points on the board at least," Lampard said. "All of us need to look at those final details."

Following the match, Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham hobbled off with an injury, with the 22-year-old walking gingerly to the locker room. Lampard said the youngster suffered "a bang on his ankle" but didn't give more details.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^