REVIEW: Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho and Marcos Alonso caused ‘issues’ in training as Chelsea’s squad was split by IN-FIGHTING before Frank Lampard was defeated … by midfielder’ fighting Cesar Azpilicueta many times’
- Frank Lampard was sacked as Chelsea manager on Monday
- Lampard had a squad in bloom after struggling to sell players last summer
- Antonio Rudiger was out of favor and reportedly fell to midfield fifth choice
- The German is said to have fought Cesar Azpilicueta at the training ground
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta was reportedly joined by team-mate Antonio Rudiger who was out of favor ‘more than once’ as tensions ignited between players before Frank Lampard went down.
Lampard was heavily kidnapped by the Blues on Monday after a formidable run of form left them ninth in the Premier League table, 11 points off league leaders Manchester United.
The former Chelsea captain received £ 230 million in support in last summer’s transfer market but has struggled to grow his new assets with a shattered squad, according to the Daily Telegraph, at their Cobham training center.
Antonio Rudiger (left) is reported to have challenged Cesar Azpilicueta (right) in training
Lampard cost £ 230million in the summer but was left with a warm squad of international players
One of Lampard ‘s biggest issues was his ability to trim his squad to make room for new signings from Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy and Thiago Silva.
The undercover squad saw Rudiger, Marcos Alonso and Jorginho live to death despite all three being Lampard players to load.
All three are believed to have ’caused issues’ for the Chelsea boss before he went bankrupt.
According to the report, Rudiger was ‘dropped to fifth choice midfielder’, according to the report, and as he was unable to secure the exit from Germany, Lampard had no choice but to keep around the first group.
The German international (right) is said to have faced ‘more than once’ with Azpilicueta (center) before Chelsea began their involvement in Lampard on Monday
Lampard saw both Jorginho (left) and Marcos Alonso (right)
Lampard left him out of matchday squads entirely several times, instead he preferred to share Silva’s new signing with youngster Kurt Zouma.
That now seems to have shattered team confidence with Rudiger reporting that he was ‘fighting’ with captain Cesar Azpilicueta more than once on the training ground.
Azpilicueta as captain ‘trying to reduce tension’ between players with academy stars also said they were upset with their handling amid favorable claims under the now-defunct Lampard.
Lampard showed a willingness during his reign to instill faith in academy graduates and opposed accusations across social media of favoritism. The Telegraph’s report claiming those who were extended to the first team squad with so many fighting for places.
Rudiger was brought back to the starting XI for Lampard ‘s last two league games as leader – a narrow win at Fulham and then the win at Leicester – but proved too little, too late for Lampard.
One Chelsea fan held the banner of ‘The Three Rats’ after Jose Mourinho’s defeat, with Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa accused of making the deal until his pocket
Rudiger (left) remained at the club after failing to move away and got back in the side.
He led Chelsea to a 3-1 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup on Sunday in his last game in charge.
Owner Roman Abramovich – as revealed by Sportsmail on Thursday – has become disillusioned with how his expensive team was performing that was not performing and Lampard has now paid the price.
Lampard has the worst points-per-game ratio of any manager in Abramovich’s time, a statistic that has not been looked at.
The club are looking to replace Lampard as soon as possible and have already opened talks. former Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel is about to step down.
On Monday, Abramovich took the unprecedented step of referencing the Lampard bag decision – a man who has won 11 major trophies with the club – the first time he did so when he retired manager.
Owner Roman Abramovich had grown tired of the sharp decline in yields
‘This was a very difficult decision for the club, especially as I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and have the utmost respect for him,’ he said.
‘He is a man of great integrity and has the highest level of work ethic. However, under the current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.
‘On behalf of everyone at the club, the board and personally, I would like to thank Frank for his work as head coach and wish him every success in the future.
‘He is an important figure of this great club and his status here remains unrecognized. He will be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge. ‘
Lampard’s sacking comes amid a poor run that has seen Chelsea win just two of their previous eight Premier League games.
