Frank Lampard finally has time to train with his players ahead of Chelsea's clash with Brentford after an intense start to life in charge of the Blues

It says a lot about Chelsea's 2022–23 season that a game that concluded with a score of 2-0, knocking the west London team out of the Champions League and effectively ending their campaign, could have good aspects. No, it wasn't a really strong performance.

For the Blues, it was evident that there appeared to be some sort of identity. In the first half of their match against Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's press applied energy and intensity, creating possibilities for themselves and the crowd to get behind.

If nothing else, it was a markedly different outing to what Chelsea had against Brighton just days earlier. A point that perhaps provides disappointment and relief all at once.

Lampard expects to see motivation in his squad until the end of the season, and it was such traits that helped him pick his team against Real Madrid. Ahead of that clash, the 44-year-old caretaker manager had highlighted concerns he had over the squad's fitness and capacity to compete over the course of 90 minutes,

Following the game, he said: "There’s individual motivations throughout the squad and there’s a collective. And for me, you have to be competitive with everything we do every day and to get into the team you have to show it. The team today is what I felt was the most form team individually, the fittest team in terms of what this game was going to ask of us and they showed it. They showed they can compete with Real Madrid, for sure, except from the final-third stuff. So I think it’s important to take each step. Each step for me and the players now is a day off tomorrow and back to work on Thursday and get working towards Brentford."
There will be greater time on the training pitch before fixtures against Brentford and Arsenal, with the Blues having a week to work towards each. It remains not a massive time to increase player capacity but it will be a crucial period for Lampard to see which players can prove their value in that time.

After defeat to Brighton, Lampard made six changes. N'Golo Kante, Reece James and Thiago Silva came into the side having been rested, while Kai Havertz returned to the lineup after a knee issue and Marc Cucurella came in for the suspended Ben Chilwell. What is perhaps more pertinent lies among players that remained.

Conor Gallagher retained his place to earn consecutive starts having previously been an option from the bench. The former Crystal Palace loanee was probably Chelsea's most impressive player against Brighton in an advanced pressing role in which he was able to show intension and aggresion, while capping off his appearance with a fortunate goal.

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