Ahead of his team’s UEFA Champions League opener against Sevilla, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said he wants his side to hit the level of performance they experienced when they faced Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich last season.
Bayern hammered the London side 7-1 on aggregate last season to eliminate Lampard’s youthful Chelsea side from the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage.
And the former Blues midfielder said that his players now know the level they need to play at in order to be successful at the very highest level, and laid down the challenge to them to do just that.
“It is a great platform to learn because you’re playing against the best, and we played against the best in Bayern Munich.
“We were a young team last year, working a lot to improve, and the Bayern game was a great marker for the young players in the squad to realize the levels that need to be attained. I remember having that myself as a young player.
“Of the players we have brought in, some have more Champions League experience than others.”
Fueled by Roman Abramovich’s millions, Chelsea have strengthened their squad with the arrival of Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, and added additional firepower in the form of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
However, despite boasting a stronger squad, Chelsea have not started the season as well as they would have hoped, with the team letting a lead slip on Saturday as they drew 3-3 with Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard will be looking for better in European competition when his team takes on Sevilla at home as they kick off a campaign that will also see them take on Group E rivals Stade Rennais and FC Krasnodar.
“I mentioned before about concentration, focus and discipline and that becomes even more important here than other competitions because of the level of Champions League,” Lampard added.
“That’s what I would always make very clear to the players going into a match against someone of the quality of Sevilla.”
