Chelsea win over Brighton showed Lampard must fix key problem to rival Liverpool, Man City

The tally of long-range goals conceded since the start of the 2018-19 season now stands at 19 after Trossard’s strike.

It is a significant weakness considering that number constitutes 32.7 per cent of the goals conceded by Liverpool and in the same time-frame, with both having leaked 58 goals. Chelsea, by contrast, conceded 54 alone last season.

The issue is one that the whole team must address, with the back-line in front of Arrizabalaga also comfortable, but there’s no getting away from the fact that the man behind the defence simply is not dependable enough.

Pre-match, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher had said of Chelsea’s title chances: “Not for me, no. Because the spending has been at the top end of the pitch and until Chelsea rectify their goalkeeping situation I don’t see them winning the league.

“You only have to look at Pep Guardiola’s first season in England, Jurgen Klopp’s first 18 months, until they signed goalkeepers and they made the real difference.

“If Chelsea signed a top goalkeeper, I think that will make a big difference. And also to be fair to Chelsea and Frank I think the expenditure of this transfer window is almost three or four transfer windows of money getting spent in one go.

“They couldn’t buy anyone last year, they’ve still got the Hazard and the Morata money, so it is club money in some ways.

source: express.co.uk