Lampard calls for Chelsea response

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard expects his players to bounce back after their 3-1 defeat to London rivals Arsenal that saw them slip to seventh in the Premier League.

The defeat at The Emirates on Saturday was their third in four games after similar setbacks against Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Lampard said his players produced their worst performance of the season in the first half against Arsenal, where they conceded goals to Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka before Bukayo Saka added a third in the second half.

“I think there were clear errors in and a culmination of things that went against us in the game... The way we approached the first half on the pitch wasn’t right,” Lampard said, ahead of his side’s home game with Aston Villa on Monday.

“We’ve seen it a lot this season, we’ve seen some crazy results. A lot of teams had some ups and downs, and at the minute we’re in a position where with out of the last four games we’ve lost three of them and won one so that needs a reaction.”

Lampard expects a tough test against Villa, who moved up to sixth with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace despite playing half the match with 10 men.

With Villa keeping a league-high eight clean sheets so far this season, Lampard was quick to point to the influence of former England and Chelsea team mate John Terry, who now works as an assistant to Villa boss Dean Smith.

“I’m sure John has an influence because of the one of the, in my opinion, the greatest centre backs that have played in the Premier League and for England and in the world for a long period of time with an absolute wealth of knowledge of the game.

“His input will be invaluable to Dean Smith and all the staff. Obviously, the team are working hard, and you’ve seen a real big uplift in them.”