Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Frank Lampard hammers Chelsea stars after axing three players at half-time vs Leicester
Frank Lampard has criticised his Chelsea players for their performance against Leicester.
Chelsea: Mason Mount shows off his skills in training
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has slammed his players for their first-half performance in the Blues' FA Cup victory over Leicester. Ross Barkley's second-half strike was enough to see the west London side through to the semi-finals, but the 42-year-old manager was far from impressed with his players.
Chelsea started slowly at the King Power Stadium and were let off by misses from Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy while Willy Caballero saved smartly from Youri Tielemans.
Lampard rang the changes at half-time, subbing off youngster Billy Gilmour, Reece James and Mason Mount for Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic and Barkley.
LATEST LIVE SPORT TV DEALS
Get Sky Sports for just £25 per month for 3 months
The Blues boss saw an immediate improvement in his side, but was far from positive after the final whistle.
Speaking to BT Sport, Lampard said: "We haven't played that badly since I've been here.
"We've actually played a lot better than that and lost games so we were fortunate at half-time that they didn't take some of the chances. That it was 0-0 was the only plus from the first-half.
JUST IN: Sports quiz questions and answers: 15 questions for your virtual pub quiz
"It is a learning experience. I could have taken more off, or other players off.
"I am not pulling those out on their own. They will be top players for this club and have top careers.
"But if I have to do something in games I will do it. It was one of those games where I had to do something. They will take it on the chin.
"We were gifting Leicester space and ease to win the ball back. We are fortunate they didn't take those chances.
"All thee subs, in their own way, livened up the performance."
DON'T MISS
Frank Lampard held secret meeting and sent Timo Werner Whatsapp messages to seal transfer
Frank Lampard's judgement on David Luiz proved right again after Chelsea's sale to Arsenal
Five Chelsea stars playing for their Stamford Bridge futures in final Premier League games
Lampard did praise his side for digging in and booking their spot in the final four, but will be expecting a much improved performance against West Ham in midweek.
"The result was satisfying and getting to the semis was satisfying," he said.
"We weren't our usual selves today. We were below what we usually produce. But I am happy with the result.
"We won the game and must learn from some of the mistakes in our game.
"I don't want to sound too down after this. You have to show the grit to get a win when you don't play well.
"We go on to the next one. We can park the cup and focus on getting the league wins to be in the Champions League."
Speaking about match-winner Barkley after the game, Lampard said: "I love to work with the midfield players and the ones who want to get forward.
"Ross has a better left foot than me. He is always going to be a goal threat."
This article contains affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently, see more details here