After Brighton's humiliation, the one Frank Lampard choice that cost Chelsea £281 million was exposed.
News from Chelsea Frank Lampard photographed on the sidelines as the Blues rotated once more before their match against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Frank Lampard had had enough of Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Brighton after 57 minutes. His Blues club was fortunate to still be in the game after taking a beating from Roberto De Zerbi's Seagulls. Prior to Danny Welbeck's equaliser, Conor Gallagher had given them the lead with a deflected shot.
Before Julio Enciso gave the visitors a well-deserved lead at Stamford Bridge, Lampard resorted to his bench to attempt to regain control of the situation. At the hour mark, the visitors had nearly double the passes made, nearly twice as many touches, and 19 shots compared to Chelsea's three.
Robert Sanchez had only been put to the test once whereas Kepa had faced eight demands from Chelsea. Since Manchester City ran Lampard's Chelsea off the pitch in January 2020, this may have been the most dominant an away team has been at SW6. That setback nearly cost him the job in the first place.
Even for a Blues performance as lacklustre as any this season, there won't be any repercussions this time. Just before the hour mark, a triple replacement was made at which point Lampard's patience, or lack thereof, had run its course.
He made six adjustments to the lineup from the midweek loss to Real Madrid, resting N'Golo Kante, Thiago Silva, and giving Reece James a break right away. In addition to missing the game due to injury, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke were also left off the roster.
When the score remained tied at one, Lampard attempted to make a substitution to stop the Brighton attacks and called James, Mateo Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech, and Joao Felix from the bench.
Enzo Fernandez, Wesley Fofana, Raheem Sterling, and Christian Pulisic all left the pitch, presumably to be spared for the Champions League second leg on Tuesday. It costs £281.5 million for everyone involved and involves a diverse range of skills.
James and Felix do not have a transfer cost in that group, thus the roughly £300 million spent on six players moving is now known as the most expensive substitute ever.
The expense of Chelsea's players relative to their on-field performances this season summarised exactly where things have been going wrong at the club in just one decision (or four, if you like) for Lampard in a game that delivered very little positive for Chelsea.
