Frank Lampard insists he is pleased with summer signing Timo Werner and remains unconcerned about his Chelsea attack, despite consecutive goalless draws against Sevilla and Manchester United.
After leaking plenty of goals at the beginning of the season, the Blues have improved their defence significantly in their past two games.
Since Edouard Mendy has come into the side in place of the faltering Kepa Arrizabalaga, the goalkeeper has helped Lampard’s side keep back-to-back clean sheets.
However, their defensive solidity has come at the cost of a lack of impetus in attack, with Chelsea’s wealth of summer signings including Werner, Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech unable to inspire them going forward.
Germany international Werner has shown flashes of brilliance since arriving from RB Leipzig for £47.5million back in June, scoring three goals so far for the Blues, including an impressive brace in the 3-3 draw with Southampton in the Premier League.
Despite the 24-year-old not exactly hitting the ground running at Stamford Bridge, Lampard admitted that he has been impressed by the striker, and doesn’t have any concerns about his side’s attack.
‘I am very happy with Timo,’ Lampard said after draw with United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
‘If you go back to the game before that, he scored two goals and Kai Havertz scores a goal. I am least worried about the front end of the pitch with the players that we have there.
‘It is normal that it will take some time for relationships [to build]. For when we have got to put the ball in behind, the ball into feet, clearly these things are going to take time to build. The reason we brought Timo and Kai into the club is to add to the quality we already have here.
‘Hakim Ziyech is looking like he is getting close to starting a game with his fitness. I have no worries about that. The last bit didn’t happen for us today. It is normal, that happens in football but I am very happy with the players.’
‘You obviously address them at the back and I thought we defended the box very well today.
‘Defending for me, at this level, is about concentration. Concentration is what will define defending in top players generally. What you saw in Thiago Silva today is a defender who concentrates at every moment of the game in every minute, to not just affect things for himself but affects those around him. I think that was a big plus today.
‘The balance of the team is something we are constantly trying to work on. We got into some nice areas in the final third but didn’t have the usual spark that we have seen already from Timo, from Kai already or what Christian can do. That is normal.
‘I will make a big positive of the fact that we defended very well today, at times we had good control, but we did not have that penetration that we normally have.’
