Frank Lampard to hold talks with Jorginho and Timo Werner over Chelsea's penalty-taker
Frank Lampard will hold talks with Jorginho and Timo Werner as he considers changing Chelsea’s penalty-taker this season.
Jorginho had scored eight in a row before missing his last two spot-kicks, including hitting the post against Krasnodar on Wednesday, with Werner scoring his later in the Champions League victory.
Lampard will speak to the pair and other penalty-takers in his squad ahead of this weekend’s trip to Burnley when he will decide on his first choice going forward this season.
“I've got no problem with either in terms of the penalty taking, not just Timo and Jorginho, we have other possibilities at the club,” he said. “So it will be something I will broach before Burnley because it's important as we've seen with history that we need it to be very clear going into the game who are the designated penalty-takers. I'll have a nice little open chat with both of them, and others, if needs be.”
Lampard has also accused Premier League clubs of making a mistake by voting out the use of five substitutes this season.
The Chelsea manager expects fitness to be one of the biggest factors for clubs’ success during a reshaped calendar following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Lampard’s team have played 10 games in the last six weeks, with players also on international duty during that time.
Teams could make five substitutions during Project Restart to limit injuries after three months without football but the rule was not carried into the 2020/21 campaign.
“The ball was certainly dropped when the Premier League turned away from having five subs,” said Lampard. “These are unprecedented times in terms of situations for football. It will carry on, it's not going anywhere in the short term.
“The demands on players are huge for every club. I'm not just talking about my squad, I'm talking about every football player that is being asked to play day after day and the injury risk. It has changed the landscape.
“We'll try to manage it as well as we can. We're fortunate we have a big squad here. At the same time we want to do our best, the pressure is on and the players want to get the right results. It could certainly have a big effect this year, more than any other year.”
Lampard needed to rest Thiago Silva for the win over Krasnodar, such is Chelsea’s heavy schedule. He says his squad is feeling tired following the journey to Russia, while agreeing with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola that this season will be the survival of the fittest. Guardiola has also strongly argued that players are at risk with the current schedule.
“Pep was absolutely spot on. It will be a season like no other and none of us can control that. We can't control the injuries that come upon us at different times,” Lampard said. “You can't always read them whether they are impact injuries like (Virgil) Van Dijk, which was big news, or muscle injuries that we are seeing more of at this stage of the season.”
