Lampard sacked
Frank Lampard has been sacked as Chelsea manager after 18 months in charge at the West London club with Thomas Tuchel in line to replace him.
Chelsea Football Club has today parted company with Head Coach Frank Lampard.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 25, 2021
The Blues decided to part ways with the Chelsea legend and record goalscorer after a poor run of results that sees the club lie ninth in the table with 29 points from 19 games.
Chelsea have lost five of their last eight Premier League games and were beaten 2-0 by Leicester in their last league game. The club are five points outside the top four places.
Lampard had the worst points per game ratio than any other manager in the Roman Abramovich era but did guide the club to a top four finish last season, as well as reaching a FA Cup final.
The Englishman was under more pressure this season after a huge transfer spend that saw the club spend over £200 million on players such as Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell. It is the most Chelsea have spent in a single summer.
Tuchel in
Former PSG and Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel is expected to replace Lampard in the next 24 hours.
He won the German Cup as Dortmund boss and won two French titles. He took PSG to the Champions League final last season but lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
Club statement
Chelsea made a club statement with owner Roman Abramovich writing a personal, heartfelt message to Lampard.
In a statement, Chelsea said: “This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the board have taken lightly.
“We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as head coach of the club. However, recent results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement.
“There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the club time to improve performances and results this season.”
“This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him, said Abramovich.
“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.”
Featured image: Frank Lampard, manager of Chelsea looks dejected following his team’s defeat in the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on January 03, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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