There are a number of reasons why Chelsea are not as dominant as they have been in the last few seasons, and one of them is the absence of a strong figure up front in their team, according to Frank Lampard.
Chelsea had that, and let him go last summer in the form of Diego Costa. He was a fighter and a goalscorer and has been missed by the Stamford Bridge outfit this season.
The striker had a feud with Antonio Conte in the close-season of the previous campaign, and revealed later the Italian manager wanted him out of the club. The manager denied this, although admitting as per the Telegraph he wanted to axe the forward in January 2017, and this led to a fall out between the pair, who don’t look like working together anytime soon.
The Spaniard was moved on to Atletico Madrid, his former side, and Chelsea replaced him with Alvaro Morata.
Lampard believes Costa is one of a kind, and has missed by last season’s champions who currently lie a lowly fifth in the standings.
“The English game has missed him this season after he rejoined Atletico from Chelsea. He is a big player, a big character. Love him or hate him, you have to appreciate that kind of player.
Chelsea have certainly not looked the same without Costa. Not only is he a big physical presence, he has great quality to score goals.”
Frank Lampard, Goal
