Gabriel Agbonlahor questioned the lack of motivation among Chelsea players as they suffered a third consecutive defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
It is safe to say that the 2-1 scoreline flattered Chelsea.
Brighton were clearly the better team and it was unbelievable how they only scored two out of the 26 shots they made in this game.
Blues caretaker manager Frank Lampard rotated the team quite heavily, which is hardly a surprise considering the upcoming clash with Real Madrid.
Agbonlahor even argued that when the regular starters failed to make an impact when they came on in the second half.
“What I don’t get is that [Lampard] made four changes at one time; Reece James, [Hakim] Ziyech, [Joao] Felix, and [Mateo] Kovacic came on but [it made] no difference,” the former Aston Villa forward told talkSPORT.
“The players look like they weren’t interested when they came on, had nothing to prove, or wanted to impress the manager.
“The whole 15-16 players were flat today.”
Agbonlahor also added: “If Lampard can’t get these players motivated, who can?”
In his post-match press conference, Lampard himself pointed out how Brighton beat Chelsea in physical battles. The visitors simply wanted the ball more.
It is hard to tell whether it is because of the poor run of results or it is down to the fact that Lampard is, for now, only at Chelsea on an interim basis, and therefore, the players do not feel as motivated to impress him.
There is also the possibility that some of these players feel that they will not be at the club next season.
Chelsea currently have over 30 players in their first-team squad and, it is clear that they will have to trim their squad this summer.
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