The Times - UK (2020-07-27)

4 2GG Monday July 27 2020 | the times

thegame Race for Europe

Match briefing

Adama Traoré’s arrival at

half-time brought some zest to a

flat performance for Wolves,

who looked like a team who

had been playing football

for 12 months.

46

decisiveness, backed

by ample evidence.

This was not just

the number of goals

conceded, though that is

stark at 54, notably worse

than most of the teams

in the top six, but

the save percentage.

Kepa’s was the second

lowest of regular

goalkeepers in the top

flight when he was

dropped in February and

lack of confidence in the

Spaniard from his defensive team-

mates was evident at times

as Liverpool put five goals past him

in midweek.

Kepa, 25, has had two seasons to

Lampard gave Pedro a high five as

he sent on the Spaniard for the last

five minutes in probably his last

appearance for Chelsea, after five

years in which he has seen

more managers (five) than

trophies (three), before

heading off to Roma.

Lampard’s bold call on

20

Mount 45+1

Giroud 45+4

63% 37%

POSSESSION

31

SHOTS ON TARGET

10 16

FOULS

RATINGSGS

Chelsea (3-4-3): W Caballero 6 — C Azpilicueta 6,

K Zouma 7, A Rüdiger 6 — R James 6, Jorginho 6

(R Barkley 88), M Kovacic 7 (R Loftus-Cheek 85),

M Alonso 6 — M Mount 8 (Pedro 85), O Giroud 7

(T Abraham 78), C Pulisic 6 (C Hudson-Odoi 78).

Booked Giroud, Azpilicueta

Wolves (3-4-3) R Patrício 6 — W Boly 5, R Saiss 5,

C Coady 5 — M Doherty 5 (D Podence 59, 5),

L Dendoncker 5, R Neves 5 (J Moutinho 59, 6),

Jonny 4 (R Vinagre 59, 5) — P Neto 5 (A Traoré 46,

6), R Jiménez 4, D Jota 5 (B Jordao 84). Booked

Jota, Neto, Dendoncker.

Referee S Attwell.

Chelsea Wolves

“Kepa’s had some difficult times, so

I’ve chosen Willy [Caballero].”

Asked to expand afterwards, he was

not about to say it was the end for

Kepa. To change goalkeepers might

not be easy in any case, given the fee

paid for the Spaniard and wages of

£150,000 a week.

“The idea that we haven’t kept

enough clean sheets is not just a

reflection of the goalkeeper,”

Lampard said. “I don’t want to

pinpoint it on Kepa today. It’s been a

tough time for him. Willy was coming

in with confidence on the back of

his performance against Manchester

United [in the FA Cup semi-final].

I don’t want to look beyond the

games left this season.”

But it was a display of managerial

“I am very pleased. I don’t want to

start singing my own praises. The

players produce. But I am proud. It’s

Chelsea and we want to be competing

for titles but I knew we weren’t in that

position this year. It was going to be

tough for us. We have been

inconsistent at times, we are honest

about that, but we are moving

forward. I have learnt a million things

and I am humble enough to know

there are things to improve.”

We are still getting to know

Lampard as a manager and, after an

insight into his touchline feistiness in

that 5-3 midweek defeat by Liverpool,

we saw a flash of ruthlessness in his

demotion of Kepa to the bench.

“It’s just a choice, just a choice,”

Lampard explained pre-match.

KEY MOMENT

Pedro Neto was still disputing whether

it was a free kick in the 45th minute

when Mason Mount stepped up and

curled a fine shot from 20 yards into

the Wolves goal. The best, and

decisive, moment of the game.

Chelsea will be in the Champions
League next season, though it
remains to be seen whether Kepa
Arrizabalaga will be lining up for
them. This was not the first time that
Frank Lampard had dropped the
world’s most expensive goalkeeper but
the timing, in a climactic victory of
the season adorned by a lovely free
kick from Mason Mount, seemed
particularly telling.
It will be a different Chelsea who
return in September — Timo Werner
was in the stands yesterday to watch
his new team-mates, with Hakim
Ziyech and potentially Kai Havertz
to come — and reliability between
the posts will be needed if all that
attacking potential is not to be
undermined defensively, as it has
been at times in Lampard’s positive
first season.
Victory over Wolverhampton
Wanderers secured a fourth-placed
finish in the Premier League and
Saturday brings an appearance in the
FA Cup final. Not at all bad for a
Premier League “rookie” coach who
took over a club who were losing

their outstanding individual in Eden

Hazard.

Chelsea’s points total is six less than

under Maurizio Sarri, who did finish

third and also landed the Europa

League, but there is a greater sense of

progress and promise, and enjoyment

for the supporters, under the 42-year-

old Englishman.

Asked what Werner might have

made of his new team, Lampard was

entitled to be upbeat and to talk of his

pride of what has been achieved, even

if there have been spells of erraticism

or imbalance.

“I hope he will have seen a team

play with a lot of spirit and

professionalism,” Lampard said. “He

will have seen a moment like Mason

breaking the deadlock. We have had

games when we have had control but

needed moments like that. So he will

have seen talent and resilience.

Stat of the season

4th

Frank Lampard’s fourth place is the

highest Premier League finish for a

debutant manager since Frank Clark’s

third-placed finish with Nottingham

Forest in 1994-95. Wolves became the

fourth team to go a whole season

without an Englishman scoring after

Fulham in 2002 and 2006, Arsenal in

2007 and Stoke City in 2016.

MATT

DICKINSON

Chief Sports Writer
At Stamford Bridge

45 minutes 85