Frank Lampard explains 'harsh' decision to drop Jorginho as Chelsea penalty taker
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Published 05/11/2020 at 00:40 GMT
Timo Werner has replaced Jorginho as the Blues' first-choice from the spot, with the German striker scoring two penalties in the 3-0 win over Rennes. The Italian midfielder had missed a couple from 12 yards out recently. The comfortable win over the Ligue 1 outfit keeps Chelsea top of their Champions League group, ahead of second-place Sevilla on goal difference.
Frank Lampard explains 'harsh' decision to drop Jorginho as Chelsea penalty taker
Image credit: Getty Images
Frank Lampard explained his thought process behind making Timo Werner’s Chelsea’s new first-choice penalty taker, joking he’d been “harsh” on Jorginho.
The Italian midfielder recently missed two spot kicks, including one against Liverpool, prompting the Blues boss to make Werner his preferred pick from 12 yards out, with the German firing home two in the 3-0 Champions League win over Rennes.
“Not an easy decision to make because Jorginho has been pretty faultless for us,” Lampard told BT Sport. “It’s harsh from me, isn’t it?” he laughed when informed Jorginho had only missed three penalty kicks in his whole career.
“He missed two recently and Timo came in and obviously scored one in our last game. I had a conversation with Jorginho. His answer was perfect for a professional. He doesn’t care who takes them, he just wants to score and that’s how he approaches it.
“Timo takes them tonight, Timo is the taker at the moment and he took them very emphatically, so I’m happy.”
Chelsea’s comfortable win over Rennes kept them top of Group E, ahead of second-place Sevilla on goal difference after a goalless draw between the two sides at Stamford Bridge last month.
“That’s an enjoyable fact and I think we deserved that in the way we played,” said Lampard. “The red card and penalty at 2-0 makes it more comfortable.
“But I think we dealt with the early parts of the second half really well. It’s not always easy against 10 men when they’ve had a bit of time to talk and arrange themselves.
“We kept the ball moving in the early parts of the second half, so the professional elements of our game were really good today. They’re good opposition too, we didn’t underrate them.
“I think you saw that even at 11 v 11. They’re a physical, technical team and we won pretty well.”
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