Perhaps this was Frank Lampard’s way of proving that he is not a gung-ho coach. His first goalless draw since becoming Chelsea’s manager arrived in tough circumstances, built on a rare show of defensive solidity to keep Sevilla at bay. Chelsea stood firm to deny the Spaniards, who had the better opportunities in a tight contest, and Lampard could take satisfaction from the way his neurotic side maintained order, refusing to let the game run away from them against opponents who pushed their concentration to the limit.
The return of Thiago Silva in central defence helped, spreading calm and keeping Kurt Zouma focused, and Édouard Mendy impressed in goal, making a couple of important saves. But while there were no defensive calamities from Chelsea, there was precious little inspiration at the other end. Low on creativity and fluency in possession, this was confirmation that Chelsea’s expensively assembled attack needs time to develop rhythm and understanding.
In the end a stalemate with a side as awkward Sevilla was hardly the worst way for Chelsea to open their Champions League campaign. The Europa League winners brought all their European knowhow to west London and might have won had they shown more conviction. Chelsea were just happy not to be caught cold.
“I was pleased with that professional element of it,” Lampard said. “Sevilla are a top team. The concentration you need in the Champions League to get a result was big from the team. I thought there were a lot of good decisions tonight. It’s a positive result.”
Further forward, though, the lines of communication broke down too often. Christian Pulisic was wasted on the right flank and Kai Havertz, the £62m signing from Bayer Leverkusen, dipped in and out. Only Timo Werner threatened but he was too isolated up front, left chasing hopeful long balls as a consequence of Lampard’s desire to keep it tight at the back.
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