Chelsea manager Frank Lampard made only one change to his lineup for this afternoon’s game against Sheffield United.
The team that beat Rennes in midweek is reused today, with one exception: Jorginho has dropped out to be replaced by Mateo Kovacic.
That was the change, and that was what Frank Lampard was asked about in the flash interview on Sky before the game. His answer, as recorded on the club’s official app but also by fan account “Absolute Chelsea” in the tweet you can see below, gives a simple reason:
Frank Lampard on Mateo Kovacic for Jorginho:
"It’s legs really. I’m asking a lot of the players to play every three days and we travelled last week to Manchester, Russia and played against a very good Rennes team here in midweek."
[via @ChelseaFC]
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) November 7, 2020
It’s down to tiredness, or as Frank has it “it’s legs.” Clearly he thinks the punishing schedule the team is on is affecting the midfielder.
The question is why all those other knackered players are still out there, despite having played even more than Jorginho.
The answer is probably that the coach thinks there’s not much dropoff between the two central midfielders, while in other positions the second choices are a tier below.
