Lampard concerned by ‘harsh’ Champions League lesson, Mount injury

A different mood befalls Stamford Bridge after tonight’s defeat in the Champions League group stage opener. It’s a stark contrast to the rambunctious and boisterous highs from this past weekend.

The match started brightly enough for the boys in Blue, however momentum wavered after Mason Mount had to taken off thanks to a horrific studs-up challenge by Francis Coquelin. Mount was visibly upset for his Champions League debut to end so early and in such an unfortunate fashion.

After the game, Lampard confirmed the ankle injury, the full extent of which will be revealed after scans.

“He has got an ankle injury, we don’t know how bad it is and will assess it. Too soon to say.

“It’s a shame because he started the game brightly. Hopefully we will have him back quickly because he’s a big player for us and he’s been playing so well. [...] Him and Willian, who I thought was fantastic tonight, started the game brightly so hopefully we will have him back quickly.”

But the concerns and disappointments for Lampard don’t stop there.

After a five-goal effort on Saturday, the team’s finishing disappeared again.

For large portions of the match, Chelsea appeared to have control, but were unable to score despite creating numerous chances to score, the vast majority of which were inside the area.

Can’t win if you don’t score!

“Without a doubt. Probably a win, at least a draw. Created enough, good chances. The penalty and we concede with one shot on target. It’s a harsh lesson of Champions League football because we played pretty well but lost.”

It’s certainly not the ideal start to our Champions League campaign. It is only the first match. But the lesson will have to be learned quickly.

“The good news is we’ve got five more games left in the group but we should have got more tonight.

“The reality of losing the first game at home makes the rest of the games more important, particularly when they come next back-to-back away from home [Lille and Ajax]. We need to have a strong focus on getting a result in one of those games now.

“It’s still a group I think teams will take points off each other because all the teams are strong”

- Frank Lampard, Source: Football.London

You may recall that the last time Chelsea lost to Valencia in the Champions League, something really cool and amazing happened. Of course, lightning does not strike twice — right?