Furious Frank Lampard Blasts 'Lazy' Chelsea Players In Scathing Interview After 3-1 Defeat To Arsenal

An angry Frank Lampard has slammed Chelsea players for their sloppy display against Arsenal in his heated post-match interview.

Alexandre Lacazette fired the out-of-form Arsenal into the lead from the spot-kick in the 35th minute, with Granit Xhaka curling in a superb 25-yard free-kick before half-time.

Bukayo Saka put the Gunners 3-0 up in the second half as a helpless Edouard Mendy watched his looping shot land in the top corner.

Tammy Abraham pulled one back for Chelsea in the 85th minute, but the Blues succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to their London rivals at the Emirates on Boxing Day.

Speaking after the match, Lampard admitted that he was "disappointed" with how his side played in the first half against Arsenal.

The Chelsea legend added that he would "take responsibility on the outside," but he also expected his players to do the same for their actions on the pitch.

"I am angry because I want us to win games," Lampard said. "It was an opportunity to go second against a team that are having a tough time.

"You either make it difficult for them or you give them a little opening and we did that from minute one and continued for 45 minutes. It was lazy to give away a penalty and lazy to give away a free-kick that he puts in the top corner.

"It wasn't good enough. We fought in the second half, but in the first half, we gave ourselves too much to do. The players who came on added speed energy and intensity.

"I'll take responsibility on the outside, but the players also have to take responsibility.

"The message was clear: Arsenal are a dangerous team. When you go out and play 60 or 70 per cent, then you're not going to win any Premier League games.

"I'm very disappointed how we approached the first half, it's not tactics or systems, it's whether you want to run, back your teammate up, sprint or jog? And say, 'Maybe I don't have to run' -- we took that decision instead of the right one."

Chelsea are seventh in the Premier League and are level on points with sixth-placed Aston Villa.

Lampard's men will return to action on Monday when they welcome Villa to Stamford Bridge, which will kick-off at 5:30pm UK time.

Topics: Frank Lampard, Football News, gunners, Chelsea, Football, Premier League, Blues, Arsenal

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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