More than Manchester City, the proper name in Frank Lampard’s press conference, prior to the confrontation with the Mancunians, was that of Erling Haaland. The English coach spoke about the interest shown by the Norwegian during his first spell as Chelsea coach and the possibility that the now ‘9′ of the citizens stop at Stamford Bridge: “I really wanted to bring it”.
The coach of the Blues He also spoke about the possibility of conditioning the race for the league title, since a victory for the London team would postpone Manchester City’s achievement of the Premier League until the following day. Asked about the signing of Mauricio Pochettino as Chelsea’s new manager, Frank Lampard acknowledged not having spoken with the Argentine.
Erling Haaland: “I have great respect for him as a player. He is a player that I tried to bring to Chelsea the first time I was here. He really wanted to bring it, obviously it couldn’t be. The level of him at that time was also very clear. We played him in a pre-season game and he was fantastic. I love seeing players of that level, with that personality and hunger to play and be the best. To deal with him, you need to have a plan and an idea, but players at that level can make anything happen at any time. I’m sure the players know him well. We have to try our hardest to try to nullify the things that he does.”
More about the possible signing of Erling Haaland by Chelsea: “I think he is special and I thought he would adapt right away. I didn’t consider it that closely, but I thought that with the level of the player and his goalscoring record (in Austria and the Bundesliga)… Getting to a very good team (Manchester City) is something that will help him a lot, and the rest It is his merit and that of the team that surrounds him. He expected (Erling) Haaland to make the leap. I have real respect for the player. I don’t know if he would have decided to come here anyway. I was pushing a lot for him and a few other players at the time, but he was the standout. I’m not sure what the appetite was from all parts of the club to do it. The competition was great to take him because he was an exceptional player. I think at the time there was a relatively reasonable release clause, considering the player. I don’t have enough details to say how close he came.”
Erling Haaland’s impact in the Premier League: “I couldn’t compare him to Didier (Drogba) because they are two different individuals at two different times with their clubs, but of course, as a Chelsea person, Didier had that impact over a long period of time. (Erling) Haaland has just started and his impact has been more instantaneous, and that is a great credit to how he has achieved it, reaching the Premier League directly. Some doubted it a bit, and he has proven it to begin with. Didier, for a really long period of time, did tremendous things for this club. There is no direct comparison, but they are two great forwards”.
Chelsea, ‘invited’ to the City party
Manchester City: “I don’t know if the best (in history), but it is clear that it is a fantastic team and has been for a long time. They have done it consistently and in that sense they are perhaps close to being the best. All my respect to them. Make them the hallway? I haven’t, but we could. That has happened to me in my career. I think they are the best team in world football. Is it good for English football? Yes, why not? You have to raise the level. The rest of the league has to try and aim for that. Influence the achievement of the title? That does not interest me, the players must worry about their responsibility”.
Chelsea’s next project: “The level has to start from the beginning. All the players fight for a place in the team. That is something that you have to work on, in hiring and in how you build a squad. We have to work hard to achieve it.”
Did you like your second stage?: “Yeah. You always want to get results, and the dream of the Champions League was difficult. The rest of the job is figuring out how many small wins I can get behind the scenes. When I leave, I want to be able to say that I’ve done it.”
Low for the match against Manchester City: “We are the same as before, with Mason (Mount), Reece (James), Chilly (Ben Chillwell), N’Golo (Kanté) and (Marc) Cucurella unfit. (Kalidou) Koulibaly has trained with us, but he’s probably out of shape. Benoit (Badiashile) was injured two days ago and will miss the match”.