Frank Lampard has made a surprising comeback to Chelsea, with the club appointing him as interim manager following Graham Potter’s dismissal.

The 44-year-old, who played for 13 years in west London, has reacted to an SOS from his former employers after they were forced to look for a new manager once more.

Potter was sacked after just 31 games as manager, and despite having close relationships with players like Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann, no permanent replacement has been named before the conclusion of the 2022–23 season.

It has offered Lampard the chance to take full control once more, nearly two years after the Blues gave him his own marching orders.

The former England player was sacked by Everton in January of this year after serving as manager at Goodison Park for a year after leaving a significant Premier League position in January 2021 with 44 victories from 84 games in charge.

Co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali told the club’s official website: “We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge. Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club. As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.

“We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line. We have an important game against Wolves on Saturday and then we will turn our attention to our Champions League quarter-final in Madrid next week. We are all going to give Frank our full backing as we aim to get the best possible outcome from all our remaining games.”

According to multiple sources, including Sportsmail, the former midfielder allegedly arrived back in Cobham on Thursday to partake in his first training with his new team.

Together with Joe Edwards and Paul Clement, who have previously lived in west London, he will be joined by fellow Blues icon Ashley Cole.

Frank Lampard returns as Caretaker Manager until the end of the season. 🤝

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 6, 2023

Lampard’s appointment means N’Golo Kante will play under four different managers (Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Lampard) in five consecutive matches, due to his long-term injury which saw him out of action between August and March.

Lampard takes over as manager of a team that has received £600 million ($748 million) in investment over the course of the previous two transfer windows as Chelsea sits 11th in the Premier League rankings.

In his first game back, the Blues will travel to Wolves on Saturday. The first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup with Real Madrid will take place at Santiago Bernabeu the following Wednesday.

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on OFFICIAL: Chelsea confirm Lampard take charge as interim Manager until the end of the season.

According to reports, Frank Lampard has agreed to take over as Chelsea interim manager till the end of the current season. The terms are still being worked out.

The renowned player and manager for Chelsea made 648 appearances and 211 goals during his illustrious career at Stamford Bridge.

In his last brief stint as first-team manager, Lampard also had some success, winning 52.4% of his matches while in charge of a young Chelsea squad.

With Graham Potter’s dismissal on Sunday, the Blues will now temporarily rely on Lampard again.

The finer details, according to reports, are still being worked out before the legendary player takes over as caretaker coach for the rest of the season.

According to sources, Bruno Saltor’s refusal to stay on as interim coach drove the decision to look for a replacement. As revealed earlier on Wednesday, Bruno is eager to remain faithful to Potter, who granted him his coaching debut in 2019 after his playing career ended.

Lampard’s willingness to return to the team where he played for 13 years has been essential to the success of discussions.

Sources claim that although Lampard accepted an interim job, he still views himself as a manager and would be eager to secure a permanent position, but is more than glad to assist the Blues for the time being.

Although Lampard will likely be appointed interim manager, the report claimed on Wednesday that former Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique had travelled to London with his agency to discuss a permanent managerial position with Chelsea.

The club has also made it known that they will be meeting with Julian Nagelsmann later this week.

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Frank Lampard set to become Chelsea interim manager.

As many opportunities went unutilized in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool, Chelsea interim manager Bruno Saltor suggested that the only thing lacking is confidence in front of the goal.

The West Londoners made a disappointing point against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds to start the post-Graham Potter era, missing a ton of fantastic chances and having two goals disallowed for inconsequential errors.

Reece James’s fierce half-volley was disallowed for a slight offside against Enzo Fernandez in the buildup to the first half, while Kai Havertz’s potential opening was ruled out for handball by VAR when his original attempt deflected off Alisson and rebounded onto his arm.

After the game, in a press conference, Bruno acknowledged that Chelsea’s wastefulness had been frustrating to see because of the way the players had been converting chances in training.

The Spaniard noted a lot of positives before arguing that the main issue is a lack of confidence in front of the goal. But, transferring it into competitive games is proving to be difficult.

“We created enough chances to win the game. Two goals disallowed. The boys gave everything, they played with their heart,” Bruno said.

“You can’t ask for more. It’s execution. They’re in front of the goal. They’re human beings. The confidence has to be there.

“Sometimes when one [chance is missed, others] after is a consequence. We just need to keep helping the boys. They’ve been going through a lot as well. It’s been a tough season for them.

“I know they miss chances. But what they could affect the most was the attitude and the effort, and that was there. They score a lot of goals in training. But coming to a game is completely different.

“It’s been really difficult for them. It’s not the first time they been in this situation this season. As a player you invest a lot in the manager. There’s been good relationships with Graham and the players. The players have suffered as well.”

Just seven clubs have a worse record than Chelsea’s in the Premier League this season, and they are all battling relegation. All season, Chelsea has only scored 29 goals.

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Bruno Saltor gives positive spin on Chelsea’s scoring drought..

Kai Havertz acknowledged that the decision to dismiss Graham Potter after only seven months in charge has left the Chelsea players “extremely unhappy.”

The former Brighton manager was sacked after a string of poor results saw Chelsea plummet into the bottom half of the Premier League league and be eliminated from both domestic cup tournaments.

After Chelsea’s dismal 0-0 stalemate with Liverpool on Tuesday, in which Bruno Saltor played his first 90 minutes as interim manager, Havertz said that he and his teammates must bear some of the blame, and confessed that the managerial merry-go-round is far from over.

“First of all, I have to say it is really nice and we have to respect Bruno and the coaching staff for standing in front of the team when the manager got the sack,” Havertz told Sky Sports, “The club has to respect those guys. But it is not our job to think about who is coming in, it is up to the owners to decide that.

“We have to do our job on the pitch but when you have a manager long-term it is easier for us players. It is not nice, we have to take responsibility for what is going on. We are at the front, everyone sees us. We are all very frustrated to see Graham go but we have to accept the situation.”

Havertz laments Potter’s exit while having a disastrous night in front of goal against Liverpool. As had been evident in previous games, the German struck up a good partnership with January loanee Joao Felix but both lacked a clinical edge in the final third.

The best example of this was when Havertz had a second-half goal disallowed for offside after a VAR review after the striker had first shot straight at Alisson.

The 0-0 draw on Tuesday demonstrated how far both teams have fallen this season. For Chelsea, though, it exposed a vulnerability that cannot be blamed exclusively on Potter and summed up exactly how difficult the challenge awaits whoever comes through the revolving door at Stamford Bridge next.

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Chelsea squad ‘very frustrated’ by Potter sacking – Kai Havertz.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp lauded his team’s efforts in Tuesday night’s dull 0-0 stalemate against Chelsea on Tuesday evening.

After the Reds’ humiliating 4-1 loss to Manchester City the previous weekend, Klopp decided to make six changes for the trip to Stamford Bridge. Players like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, and Mohamed Salah were all benched.

In their first game following Graham Potter’s sacking and with Bruno Saltor at the helm, Chelsea suffocated Liverpool but were guilty of some horrendously wasteful finishing, with Klopp’s men perhaps a little fortunate to return to Merseyside with a point.

Nevertheless, Klopp stated after the game that he was pleased with how his team responded and battled for the draw.

“Reaction must always be [important],” he said. “I saw a lot of great challenges, people flying into tackles and that’s what we need. Midfield, the three of them [Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones] didn’t play that often together.

“That’s what we have to build on it. If things don’t go your way you have to fight through this and make steps. Sometimes smaller ones, sometimes bigger ones and this was a smaller one.

“From a passion point of view I really liked the game. Yes it was not the best football but these boys are really good footballers and tonight they put in a proper shift.

“I thought really for the six changes especially, it was good tonight and that’s what I take. They wanted to win desperately, we did as well, but we have to take a point.”

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Jurgen Klopp reveals why he ‘really liked’ Liverpool’s draw at Chelsea.

Bruno Saltor, the interim manager of Chelsea, has expressed “frustration” over Graham Potter’s departure after just six months of a six-year contract, suggesting that the former manager should have been given more time to complete the long-term project that has just begun.

The 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at home over the weekend, which sent Chelsea into the bottom half of the Premier League standings, served as Potter’s resignation’s final straw.

Even though they were making progress in the Champions League, Chelsea had only won seven of their 22 Premier League games under Potter’s leadership since early September after being held at home by relegation-threatened Everton in their final matchup before the March international break.

But being new to the club and dealing with 14 new players who were all playing at Stamford Bridge for the first time made it difficult enough to merely understand the game.

“Obviously there is a frustration because processes take time,” Bruno said ahead of Tuesday night’s huge Premier League clash against a similarly underachieving Liverpool.

“We all know the situation here. But it is what it is and we need to focus on Liverpool. Thinking about the past is not going to help me now. I don’t know exactly what the promises to Graham were. It is a sad day…it’s been a difficult 24 hours for all of us, the staff, the families.”

In an effort to “attempt to keep the process continuing,” Chelsea kept assistant Bjorn Hamberg from the former coaching staff and Bruno, who spent seven years becoming into a cult icon at Brighton before joining Potter in west London.

“I think Graham did an amazing job. [The players] know the level of human being that Graham is. They will take responsibility as they have done since day one. I just expect them to be next to us and supportive. Chelsea are trying to do a long project, as everyone knows. Graham was part of it and we were part of it. I don’t think the position of the club has changed.”

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Bruno Saltor expresses “frustration” over Graham Potter sacking.

Interim Chelsea manager Bruno Saltor has confessed that Graham Potter’s departure has been difficult for everyone at the club.

After a lacklustre 2-0 loss to Aston Villa sent the Blues into the bottom half of the Premier League standings with only 10 games remaining, Potter was fired on Sunday. Bruno, the former Brighton right-back who accompanied Potter to Stamford Bridge, is now in charge of the team.

There was little time for Bruno to get to grips with the role as his first day on the job involved a pre-match press conference ahead of a visit from Liverpool on Tuesday, in which the events of the previous 24 hours understandably took centre stage.

“I spoke to Graham five minutes ago and he sent his regards to all of you,” Bruno told the media. “It has been a difficult 24 hours for all the staff, the families and now we have to deal with the situation.

“It’s a sad day for the staff because Graham and Billy [Reid, Potter’s assistant] are two top coaches, top people and I have to be as professional as I can to prepare for the game as best we can.

“It’s been difficult at every single level. You have to deal with the press conference, the players, the relationship with Graham and Billy, how it effects their family. A really difficult 12 hours.”

Bruno continued by saying that although he had previously spoken with the club’s owners to discuss his situation, he had not yet spoken to any Chelsea players regarding Potter’s departure.

“I’ve not seen the players yet, we have an afternoon session planned,” he continued. “We are all responsible and need to keep focused on tomorrow’s game.

“They will be sad because they know the level of human being Graham is.

“I’ve spoken to [the owners], they have been supportive. I am focused on tomorrow’s game. If I am here right now, it’s because Graham and the club thought it was the right step.”

This post appeared first on Mp3bullet.ng... Read Original post on Bruno Saltor responds to Graham Potter’s ‘tough’ exit from Chelsea.