Things only going one way for Frank Lampard as Chelsea are exposed again in convincing Man City loss

Frank Lampard watches as his Chelsea side are swept aside by Man City

Callum Hudson-Odoi meanwhile showed why he was one of a few Chelsea players who actually deserved a start, but Lampard didn’t pick him. Hakim Ziyech returned but none of the team’s verve did.

They were just there to be got at and exposed, again and again, emphasising the structural problems of this team, again and again.

Of course the damning third goal came from a counter-attack – if one brilliantly fired by Sterling – of the type that has been such a characteristic flaw of Lampard’s time in charge. There should have been a set-piece conceded, too, except Rodri didn’t quite have the finishing that so many other players have benefitted from against Chelsea in similar situations.

The club as a whole meanwhile faces a familiar situation: whether to stick with a manager, and even one that Abramovich likes. He has dispensed with figures he has been even friendlier with in the past, like Avram Grant. Lampard can’t expect a pass there, even if the vast majority of the fanbase would want him to be as long serving as Sir Alex Ferguson.

The problem right now is that Lampard looks way short of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and isn’t exactly offering much of a case to keep him on.

As tends to happen when you appoint young coaches straight into big jobs, they don’t have the experience to draw on when things go wrong, the previous situations to learn from under less pressure.

Lampard is under serious pressure now. There is even talk of coaches like Max Allegri putting themselves forward.

City meanwhile might well start putting those above them under pressure. This was a match to take note of, for the rest of the Premier League, as much as Abramovich.

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