This season Chelsea have conceded eight times between half-time and the hour mark, and in six matches have given up two goals in any 10-minute period.
This spells out a clear mentality issue amongst the Chelsea players, something they have been questioned on throughout the last 5 years at least.
Of course, a few of the players have changed over time, but the core players largely have remained the same and unfortunately it looks like an issue that has been bred through the squads in recent years.
Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri all touched upon the mentality issues that the players have during their reigns as Chelsea manager, and now Frank Lampard has admitted the same problem with his current crop.
A large part of being a successful footballer is being strong-minded, as well as having the ability. You also need to have that confidence as a group, and Chelsea this season in particular, look gutless and weak-minded.
As reported by The Daily Mail, Lampard has responded to questions why his team often concede early in the second half, and often lose early leads.
His response, is not surprising…
“Mindset,’ he said. ‘You have to have a mindset within the group on the pitch because those things… We spoke at half-time about what Bournemouth might do, and then you rely on the players on the pitch and together they have to solve problems. It has been an issue.
“Games change with goals, the atmosphere in the stadium changes and sometimes you have to dig in and concentrate that little bit more as a group. That we have been tested with a lot. We have talked about it a lot. Players have to find that solution on the pitch.”
