Chelsea played out a goalless draw against Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday evening, and despite being solid at the back, something was lacking in attack.
It was, and still is vital that Chelsea improve their back line, and they are showing very positive signs of doing this, having got a clean sheet in three of their last four matches.
They looked very solid at the back against United again at the weekend, and these are great foundations to move forward.
But Blues boss Frank Lampard has said that they are now working on finding that balance between attack and defence, after admitting that his attackers did not have “the usual spark” in the final third against United.
Speaking to the Chelsea Website, Lampard appears to know exactly what they need to do after working on shoring up the back line, which he desperately needed to address.
He said:
“Where we have conceded more goals than I would have liked in certain games this season, it is important to try to address those problems.
“Obviously we are addressing them at the back. I thought we defended the box very well [at Old Trafford].
“Defending for me at this level when you have individual players with good quality is about concentration. Concentration is what defines defending in top players generally.
“Thiago Silva on Saturday was a great example of a defender who concentrates at every moment of a game, not just to affect things himself but to affect those around him. That was a big plus.
“The balance is something we will constantly work on. We got in nice areas at certain times. We didn’t have the usual spark that we have seen from Timo and Kai already, or what Christian can do, but I will take positives in that we defended very well and had at times good control, but did not have the absolute penetration we normally have.
“I am least worried about the front end of the pitch with the players that we have there.
“It is normal it will take some time for the relationships in the side to form, whether we want to play the ball in behind or to feet. We are in such an early part of the season and I know the qualities and the reasons we brought Timo and Kai into the club. I know the qualities we already have there and Hakim Ziyech is now looking like he is coming close to starting a game with his fitness. I am very happy with the players.
“Talking about ourselves, we need to keep on working and improving because I have a lot of faith in the squad we have.
“On Saturday we showed a base of being able to keep a clean sheet and show resilience which makes me happy, because I am less worried about those relationships at the top of the pitch because a lot that stuff will be individual quality and we certainly have that.”
