Chelsea

Kalidou Koulibaly talks up Frank Lampard influence at Chelsea

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 11 April 2023

Koulibaly talks up Lampard influence at Chelsea

Kalidou Koulibaly feels that Frank Lampard's level of respect at Chelsea could help the Blues improve during the closing weeks of the season.

Kalidou Koulibaly has suggested that Frank Lampard's level of respect at Chelsea could help the team change their fortunes during the run-in.

Last week, Chelsea made the surprise decision to re-appoint Lampard as caretaker manager on a deal until the end of the season, replacing Graham Potter.

Rather than stick with Bruno Saltor, who was initially made interim head coach, Todd Boehly and co opted to bring back arguably the club's greatest-ever player for his second stint.

The aim is to give Chelsea the best chance of winning the Champions League, as well as not feeling forced to find a new permanent boss as soon as possible.

However, Lampard did not get off to the best of starts, witnessing the Blues succumb to a 1-0 scoreline at Wolverhampton Wanderers after opting to revert to a back four.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard reacts on April 8, 2023 © Reuters

Chelsea posed less of a threat in the final third than they did in their previous performances versus Aston Villa and Liverpool, also matches in which they failed to find the back of the net.

A trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie is next on the agenda for Chelsea, the fixture effectively their most important of the season.

Nevertheless, Koulibaly has backed Lampard to help turn things around at Stamford Bridge, hinting that his status as a club legend could work in his favour.

Speaking to BBC Sport, the Senegal international said: "We know he is a legend here and he has already trained half of the team.

Kalidou Koulibaly in action for Chelsea on August 6, 2022 © Reuters

"The situation is like this for the moment, but in training he has been saying he will support us until the end and help us to be out of this situation.

"We know it is a difficult situation for everybody, including the club, manager and supporters, but we will give everything to get out of this and make them happy. Our first objective is to win the games and make our supporters happy."

In his first reign, Lampard won 44 of his 84 matches, earning Chelsea a top-four finish in the Premier League and an FA Cup final appearance in his first year.

Since then, though, the 44-year-old has spent a spell at Everton, narrowly keeping the Toffees in the top flight last season before being sacked at the end of January.