Chelsea’s interim boss Frank Lampard suggested that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may have a role to play in the team's run-in after making his second appearance since February in the team's loss against Brentford.
The Blues' goalscoring woes hit a new low as they suffered a toothless 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, extending their poor run to a single goal scored in the last seven games. Despite Aubameyang's noticeable impact on the game, Chelsea suffered their fifth consecutive defeat since Lampard's appointment.
"Auba has been a tough one for me because I’ve got complete respect for him as a player. He’s scored 300 and whatever goals in his career. He couldn’t play the two Madrid games for me because he was not in the squad, he came on against Wolves (a 1-0 defeat) and for a number nine particularly, to be sharp and to be playing regularly is key. To see him train when we haven’t had big minutes for training, in the last few days I’ve seen him be able to train, so he was in my thinking for (Brentford) anyway. He certainly has the profile of a number nine. We don’t have that elsewhere in the squad. So I did see a difference."
Chelsea's starting XI against Brentford have only managed to score 10 Premier League goals between them this season, with a tally of 30 in 32 games. This puts Chelsea in the bottom four teams in the division for goals scored. By contrast, relegation-threatened Leeds and Leicester have scored 12 and 14 more goals respectively than the Blues.
Lampard also acknowledged the difficulties of managing the team during a difficult period and the potential impact on his reputation, stating "I took (the job) on knowing the jeopardy of what it might be, but I’m very proud to manage here. People will perceive you in a different way anyway. In the short-term, I’m not worried. I want to win games, that’s clear. But I understand the problems as to why we’re probably not winning games."
Source - 365 Football