LIGHTS OUT ON LAMPS

Published date04 January 2021
Date04 January 2021
PEP GUARDIOLA'S City slickers destroyed Chelsea to leave Frank Lampard clinging to his job at Stamford Bridge.

The capital might be in lockdown again but City ran riot from start to finish to hand the Blues a footballing lesson in their own backyard.

To be frank, this was like watching men against boys as City pummelled their hosts into submission before half-time with a stunning performance that warned the rest of the Premier League they want their title back.

The Blues have now won just one of their last six league games to plummet down the table, as Lampard continues to play Russian roulette with his future.

No wonder owner Roman Abramovich doesn't bother coming these days, if this is the tripe being served up.

But he might make an exception if things don't improve soon, because his relationship with Lampard is now being tested to the limit.

The Blues might have boasted a formidable home record, but Lampard had seen his side take four points from a possible 15 available before this.

He made five changes to the team that drew with Aston Villa a week ago and recalled Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma and Mateo Kovacic in a bid to shake up his lacklustre troops. It wasn't going to work though.

Guardiola had problems of a different kind after a Covid-19 outbreak deprived him of five players.

Ederson was one of them, meaning Guardiola had to hand a league debut to Zak Steffen in goal - just his fifth appearance for the English giants.

Oleksandr Zinchenko and Phil Foden also returned, with Sergio Aguero having to settle for a place on the bench alongside Covidiot Benjamin Mendy, where

Guardiola could keep an eye on him after he admitted breaking lockdown rules on New Year's Eve.

Guardiola deployed Kevin De Bruyne in the middle of his front three and Lampard's men just couldn't handle him.

He ran them ragged and when...

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