Frank Lampard admits he could only shout from the sidelines as Chelsea squandered their early lead to lose 2-1 to Arsenal in the FA Cup final.
Christian Pulisic gave the Blues the dream start by scoring in the fifth minute, but Arsenal rallied and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck in either half to secure the win for the Gunners.
Chelsea’s task was made harder by hamstring injuries to goalscorer Pulisic and captain Cesar Azpilicueta, who both had to be taken off.
Substitute Pedro, who came off the bench to make his final Chelsea appearance, was the third casualty of the match and needed a stretcher to depart the pitch with a serious shoulder injury.
Speaking after the match, Blues boss Lampard conceded his side became “complacent” despite his pleas from the touchline.
“We started well for 10-15 minutes and we can only blame ourselves form that point,” Lampard said.
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“We got complacent, we took time on the ball like it was a stroll and we allowed them into the game. It’s hard to get back into the game then. A lot of today is on us.
“All I can do from the sidelines is shout! There are elements in our game that we have worked hard on all year but that is in you as a group.
“Today we were slow, we played back on ourselves, invited pressure. We didn’t play well enough to win a final.
“I’m not even thinking about next week, it all came together for us today, two hamstrings, a dislocated shoulder.
“It’s the end of a long long season and it was the tipping point for us.”
Lampard’s men travel to Bayern Munich next Saturday for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.
