Is Frank Lampard holding Chelsea back?

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard was in great form against his old club West Ham at the weekend, netting twice in a commanding midfield display. Against Baselthough, the 35 year old was far less impressive, struggling to keep up with the pace of the game and failing to impose himself on proceedings. Should he then be benched in light of this poor performance?

Lampard was actually awarded a -15 performance score by Squawka for his part inChelsea’s defeat to Basel in their Champions League group stage clash. First and foremost, Lampard was not dominant in possession and too frequently gave the ball away, as well as not getting on the ball enough, as we can see below:

Lampard completed just 74% of his passes in this game, a very low number. In contrast, John Obi Mikel completed 88% of his passes, doubling the number of accurate passes contributed by Lampard. Lampard therefore failed to control the game for Chelsea in his position, misplacing too many passes. This lack of control in midfield was part of the problem for Chelsea against Basel and Lampard”s inability to use the ball effectively was a reason for this.

Not only that, but he was not dominant in terms of winning the ball either. Lampard did not complete a single tackle in this game and made zero interceptions. This, in conjunction with the fact that he attempted zero shots and was so ineffective in possession shows what a poor game Chelsea’s record goal scorer had. His only defensive contribution was two clearances.

Lampard has had an OK season, without really excelling. In Tuesday night’s tie he was very poor, struggling to use the ball well and failing to impose himself on the midfield battle to any degree of success. Lampard is 35 though and has started the majority of Chelsea’s games this season. In light of his poor showing though it might be time to give him a rest and allow Ramires and Mikel a chance to start together in the centre of midfield.