Lampard laments Chelsea’s ‘slow’ start after 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest

Chelsea’s expensively assembled squad continue to underperform after they played out a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. 

Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has found his goalscoring touch at just the right time for Steve Cooper’s side, with the Nigerian rising highest in the 13th minute to head home a Renan Lodi cross from the left.

Chelsea equalised in the 51st minute through Raheem Sterling, the England international putting the finishing touch on a Trevor Chalobah cutback from 10 yards out.

Just before the hour mark Sterling put his side in front, the 28-year-old latched on to a Ruben Loftus-Cheek pass before expertly cutting inside and firing a curling finish into the bottom corner.

Awoniyi wasn’t to be outdone though and in the 62nd minute he once again headed home from close range, this time from an Orel Mangala cross.

Speaking afterwards Chelsea boss Lampard was disappointed with his side’s slow start and the fact they didn’t do enough to win the game.

“The second half was ours, control of the game was ours obviously in terms of possession but in the first half we weren’t dynamic enough in the top end of the pitch,” Lampard told BBC’s MOTD.

“Everything we spoke about at the start of the game, it was too slow. Unfortunately it seems to be intrinsic here at the minute where we play a lot of passes but they are not to break lines or to threaten the opposition in the top end of the pitch.

”Obviously, their two goals you are not happy with because it’s a long throw for the second one and the first one comes from a header from a nothing ball into the box.

“From our point of view we lose half the game by starting slow. We start the second half, overlap and score and make sprints, movements and we score. Whether it’s a fair result I don’t know but we have to do more to win the game.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *