Frank Leboeuf insists he is still ‘not convinced’ by Frank Lampard’s Chelsea despite their emphatic victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Summer signing Ben Chilwell scored and made an assist as the Blues beat London rivals Palace 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Kurt Zouma and Jorginho were also on target for Lampard’s side, with new signing Edouard Mendy keeping a clean sheet after being picked ahead of Chelsea record signing Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Despite the emphatic win, former Chelsea star Leboeuf remains unconvinced by the team and says Lampard’s squad have much to work on.
The France legend did single out Thiago Silva and Zouma for praise, however, and said their centre-back partnership ‘worked’.
Asked to rate Chelsea’s display against Palace, Leboeuf told ESPN: ‘Let’s say, a serious one.
‘I’m pleased with Thiago Silva, he had a good game and with Zouma, it worked.
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‘But it’s hard to judge Chelsea when you have a Crystal Palace team who have talented players but do not attack. They didn’t play.
‘Chelsea were serious and did what they had to do. I’m not convinced yet about what Frank wants to do with that team because they’re not fully ready.
‘[Christian] Pulisic just came back, we’re still waiting for [Hakim] Ziyech and some of the others. So the team is not ready, it’s going to take a bit longer for us to judge them.
Lampard called for patience after big-spending Chelsea’s victory over Crystal Palace. The Blues have spent £220m this summer in response to last year’s transfer ban.
‘There is a lot of reactionary stuff about us because of expectation,’ the Chelsea boss told BBC Sport.
‘I do think people have to remain calm – that’s how I have to be, I can’t get caught up in it. It’s my job not to be reactionary and not get too upset or down.
‘We got a lot of credit for coming fourth [last season] and we are not going to go from there to 100 instantly.
‘We are a work in progress but I am up for that work and so are the players.’
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