Chelsea have just lost the UEFA Super Cup to Liverpool in Istanbul, but they performed well in the game, and manager Frank Lampard has been speaking to the media after the game.
The Chelsea manager praised his side in many aspects, and was then asked about one of the distinct circumstances of this tie.
Liverpool had played on the Friday night, while Chelsea played on Sunday afternoon. Considering it’s the second week of the season, and the game went to extra time, this clearly gives a big boost to Liverpool.
In quotes recorded by the Chelsea official Twitter page which you can see embedded here, Lampard sad that while the rest was “clearly an advantage”, but that his team “didn’t lose for that reason”.
When asked about Liverpool's extra days of rest before the game, Frank says: 'Two days more recovery this early in the season is clearly an advantage to them, although you wouldn't have known it the way we played. We didn't lose for that reason but it was frustrating.'#SuperCup
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 14, 2019
He’s right. Chelsea competed through the whole game, and there were as many Liverpool as Chelsea men down on the pitch at the end of this one.
Let’s hope that extra fitness test gets these guys extra sharp for the season to come. Maybe we will hit our stride a little earlier than usual this season, which could help Frank Lampard ease into the job
