Frank Lampard has criticised the passiveness of his Chelsea side during the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday evening.
The Blues went into the Premier League fixture at the Emirates Stadium on the back of five straight losses, scoring just one goal during that period.
Noni Madueke netted for Chelsea in the second half, his first strike in a Blues shirt, but that effort came after the West Londoners had produced a tepid opening 45 minutes.
Two smart Martin Odegaard finishes put the Gunners in control before Gabriel Jesus added a third before the half-time whistle, Chelsea arguably fortunate not to concede more times than they did.
While Chelsea improved after the break, Arsenal could have doubled their advantage before Madueke gave the visitors hope against the run of play.
At a time when Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League table, Chelsea remain 12th and are six points adrift of 10th-placed Fulham with five matches remaining.
© Reuters
Speaking after the game, Lampard acknowledged that Chelsea had been 'too nice' to play against during the first half of the showdown with one of their fierce rivals.
The Englishman told Match Of The Day: "Not good enough first half, that's what confirms the result. Much better second half, but not good enough first half.
"We were too nice to play against in all aspects in the first half. In the second half we played much more like a team that has a threat up top. In the first half we were too easy to play against. It's tough because you want to win games, but it's our job, we'll work on it."
In a press conference, Lampard suggested that he felt his players were suitably motivated, telling reporters: "I motivate them and I do my job. I understand my role as an interim, in my short time here and the more I'm here, I'm becoming more practical about it with the players that do show.
"Of course, as the club moves forwards that will have to be the case all of the time. I don't care about the factors, all I care about is seeing a better first half than I saw."
Chelsea return to action on Saturday when they meet Bournemouth, who will overtake them in the table with a win, at the Vitality Stadium.
No Data Analysis info
