- Frank Lampard led criticism of Chelsea as the English champions lost in Rome
- Antonio Conte claimed his team lacked ‘hunger’ and ‘desire’ in the 3-0 defeat
- Lampard took issue with ‘heads-down’ body-language and poor organisation
Frank Lampard led the criticism of Chelsea as the Premier League champions were torn apart in Rome, and Antonio Conte claimed his team lacked ‘hunger’ and ‘desire’.
Lampard took issue with their ‘heads-down’ body-language and organisation and fellow pundit Steven Gerrard dubbed it was up there with their ‘worst’ performance under Antonio Conte.
‘It was the reaction of the players after half-time,’ said Chelsea legend Lampard on BT Sport. ‘Heads down, out of position and all over the place. It was disappointing all over.’
Frank Lampard led the criticism of Chelsea as the Premier League champions lost in Rome
Antonio Conte claimed his team lacked ‘hunger’ and ‘desire’ in the 3-0 defeat to Roma
Lampard took issue with Chelsea’s ‘heads-down’ body-language and poor organisation
Rio Ferdinand claimed the ‘disjointed’ display was a ‘disaster’ ahead of Sunday’s clash with Manchester United and Phil Neville, on BBC Radio 5Live blamed it all on the decision to let Nemanja Matic leave for Old Trafford.
Neville said: ‘What’s gone wrong for Chelsea? One word. Matic. It’s as simple as that. The minute they sold Nemanja Matic was a mistake. Whoever made that decision needs sacking.
‘That is one of the poorest decisions I have ever seen in the Premier League. If you ask any of those Chelsea players who they would want back, they would say Matic.’
Chelsea’s defeat was the first inflicted on an English side in the Champions League this season
Conte conceded there is work to do before Sunday’s game against Manchester United. ‘For sure, my task is to try to find the best solution,’ said the Chelsea manager.
‘To try to avoid this type of game, but for sure, we have to work together. We need to have the will – I repeat – to dig deep. If we think that only because our name is Chelsea, and the opponent have fear of the name Chelsea, this is not the right way.
‘We have to find the hunger we showed all last season and, this season, only sometimes, but this season has been up and down. If you are a great team you must have stability. You must have consistency. At this moment we are struggling a lot to find this type of balance.’