‘Chelsea were ‘too nice’ to play Arsenal’ – Lampard

Frank Lampard has called out Chelsea players for being too nice during the London Derby duel, which they lost 3-1 to Arsenal on Tuesday.

The loss means the Blues recorded their sixth straight defeat since Lampard was appointed interim manager.

"The performance [in the] first half was nowhere near good enough," Lampard told Sky Sports. "Too nice to play against, too passive.

"At the minute, we're a little bit conditioned in a way that makes us pretty nice to play against. That's what a Chelsea team hasn't been in recent years, and that's what needs to change."

Apart from being nice against Arsenal – who resumed the top position temporarily,  Lampard picked out other factors that worked against them in North London.

"Defensively, the line wasn't coming up, which was giving them space. In possession, we weren't playing over their press.

"All the things that make you a nice team to play against, we did. The second half was better, but the result's relatively confirmed by then."

The interim boss was quick to dismiss claims that his players are suffering from low confidence.

"I don't want to say the low-on-confidence thing too much because when you're playing for Chelsea, there's a level of performance," added the former Everton manager.

"You can still be low on confidence but show a dynamic side to your game. They have good players, but you can make them feel hurried - we didn't.

"Maybe it doesn't even matter what the core reason is because the only thing that will get you out of it is working hard.

The defeat leaves Chelsea, who have scored two goals under Lampard, 12th, just nine points above the relegation zone.