Frank Lampard questions Chelsea players' mentality and identifies key weakness in the side

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard has criticised Chelsea's lack of concentration following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.

The Blues took the lead through Marcos Alonso in the first half, before two quick-fire goals from Eddie Howe's side turned the game on its head in the second half.

Alonso struck a late equaliser to earn Lampard's men a point, but the manager was still unhappy with elements of his team's performance.

"It’s a mindset. Every game’s different, but you have to have a mindset within the group, on the pitch, because those things are not unexpected," Lampard told the club's official website.

"We spoke at half-time, for instance, about what may happen, what they may do, and then you rely on the players on the pitch. So together they have to solve issues. It’s been a problem.

"It’s always collective. As a group, we can’t be happy with it. This group has young players and experienced players and you can’t be happy when you have moments when you concede like that.

"I don’t think it matters how young you are, it isn’t naivety, I think there is a concentration issue. We have to concentrate even more.

"Games change with goals – the atmosphere in the stadium, the feelings of the other team. Sometimes you need to dig in and concentrate that little bit more as a group. We’ve been tested with that a lot and we talk about it a lot, but the players have to find a solution on the pitch.

"At the other end of the scale, I think if we are clinical with our chances those moments aren’t there so much. Leaving games at 1-0 or 0-0 always gives the other team a chance."

Chelsea, who remain three points clear of the chasing pack in fourth place, face Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).