Chelsea legend Frank Lampard has stated that his former club are struggling defensively due to the absence of Victor Moses.
Moses is Antonio Conte’s first choice for the right-wing-back, but the 26-year-old Nigerian has been out of action since limping off in the first half of their 2-1 Premier League defeat at former club Crystal Palace on October 14.
Following Chelsea’s 3-0 loss to AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Lampard said it was evident the West London club were missing Moses despite Conte trying out Davide Zappacosta and Cesar Azpilicuerta in his absence.
“Moses is a miss,” Lampard said on BT Sport.
“You wouldn’t have thought that 18 months ago with what he’s given them in the right-wing back position.
“He’s [Conte] is covering it with Azpilicueta, he’s covering it with Zappacosta, but it’s affecting the whole back five.
“And I think he will want to get back to knowing what his three is and working on it through the week.
“The players are going to have to react because I don’t think Conte is a manager that will change his way. He might change players in the team but they’ll have to work.
“Hearing discontent about training, they better get used to it because he’ll want to work his way out of it.”
Chelsea have to regroup quickly for their next big test which is against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.