Frank Lampard is really impressed by what he’s just seen from Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta against Manchester United.
Chelsea were well beaten 4-1 on Thursday night away to Manchester United in their penultimate fixture of the Premier League season. Finally, the Blues host Newcastle United this Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s defeat at Old Trafford perfectly encapsulated what a poor campaign it’s been for the club, who sit in the bottom half of the table and are going through managers at a rapid rate.
Hopefully, there can be some consistency and improvement at the Bridge moving into next season.
Caretaker manager Lampard did reserve special praise for Chelsea’s £150,000-a-week club captain following this week’s defeat to United.
He claims that Cesar Azpilicueta, 33, showed the kind of attitude required from the rest of the Blues stars.
“I thought Azpi was fantastic in terms of his captaining and his attitude which for me is 70 per cent of the game, how you apply yourself and your attitude,” Lampard said, as quoted by the club’s official website.
We doubt the 33-year-old right-back’s still got the quality to play an important role in this side moving forward, but it was one of his brighter displays this week.
He tried to maintain standards and defend well while others around him were capitulating.
It’s going to take some leaders in the dressing room over the summer to dramatically change things in pre-season.