Chelsea sack Frank Lampard after 18 months in charge

Frank Lampard has been sacked by Chelsea after just 18 months as head coach. The former Blues midfielder enjoyed a good first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, taking the club to the FA Cup final and securing qualification for the Champions League.

Lampard, 42, leaves with the Chelsea ninth in the Premier League table after last week’s defeat at Leicester City, having won once in their past five league matches.

Lampard was appointed on a three-year contract when he replaced Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge in July 2019.

After spending over £200m on new players in the summer, Chelsea find themselves ninth in the Premier League after 19 games, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United and five points off Liverpool in fourth.

Lampard guided Chelsea to fourth place and the FA Cup final in his first season in charge, but the Blues have now suffered as many defeats in their past eight league games as they had in their previous 23.

“This has been a very difficult decision, and not one that the owner and the board have taken lightly.

“We are grateful to Frank for what he has achieved in his time as head coach of the club. However, recent results and performances have not met the club’s expectations, leaving the club mid-table without any clear path to sustained improvement,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“There can never be a good time to part ways with a club legend such as Frank, but after lengthy deliberation and consideration it was decided a change is needed now to give the club time to improve performances and results this season.”

Owner Roman Abramovich said Lampard’s status as an “important icon” of the club “remains undiminished” despite his dismissal.

“This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank and I have the utmost respect for him,” said Abramovich.

“He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics. However, under current circumstances we believe it is best to change managers.”

According to Skysport, Thomas Tuchel is in line to replace Lampard. The former Borussia Dortmund coach is available after leaving Paris Saint-Germain in December.

Tuchel won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 with Dortmund before a brief but trophy-laden spell in Paris which saw him win two Ligue 1 titles and a French Cup, as well as reaching the final of last season’s Champions League, which they lost to Bayern Munich.