STICKING POINTS
Lamps says title rivals will lose games: We must hang in there
CHELSEA boss Frank Lampard believes it will take far fewer points to win the title this season. Manchester City broke the 100-point barrier to win the Premier League in 2018 and retained it with 98 points the following year, while Liverpool were crowned champions with 99 last season.
But Lampard reckons all the title challengers will drop points along the way this time around.
“The number of points will be less and we have to make sure we keep improving to stay in the race,” he said. “That is just where we’re at this season – you have seen the results. We felt it first hand at the we e kend at Everton. They’ve got good players, they invested in the squad, are well organised and made it difficult for us.
“Watching the games on Sunday, you saw that all over the place. The league is getting tighter. er.
“We still see ourselves as a bit of a work in progress. We have already l o st some points that we maybe shouldn’t n’t have done.”
It could be seen as Lampard trying to play down expectations to ease the pressure on himself and also his squad. The
Blues’ 15-game unbeaten run was surrendered at Goodison Park (Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud, below) and now they face another tough test at Wolves.
“I look around and see strong s squads th that have been w winning things o over the last f few years that a are very stable a and we’ve got som some new players that h have come in,” added dd d L Lampard. “People look at the price tag of our signings, but some are young players who have come to play in this league for the first time and clearly need a bit of time. But I believe we are improving and will continue to improve.”
Patricio, Semedo, Coady, Saiss, Macal, Dendoncker, Neves, Traore, Podence, Neto, Silva. CHELSEA: Mendy, James, Zouma, Silva, Chilwell, Kante, Jorginho, Mount, Havertz, Abraham, Werner. REFEREE: Stuart Attwell