Frank Lampard said Chelsea ‘gave away too many chances’ in their Champions League tie with Valencia, while also admitting his side missed too many chances of their own.
It was a pulsating encounter at the Mestalla, Chelsea‘s 2-2 draw keeping their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League alive.
A win for either side in Eastern Spain would have secured progression to the last 16, and Carlos Soler gave the hosts the lead with five minutes of the first half left to play, though Mateo Kovacic quickly levelled the scores.
Frank Lampard’s men would seize an advantage five minutes after the break only for Daniel Wass to equalise with eight minutes to go to take Group H to the final matchday.
Kepa won't want to look at this again! ????
Late drama at the Mestalla means Chelsea share the points with Valencia.
Group H is going down to the wire… pic.twitter.com/CPchOnHnJp
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 27, 2019
Valencia managed 18 shots to Chelsea’s 16, and speaking after the end-to-end encounter, Frank Lampard rued the number of chances his side offered up, as well as their inability to finish their own chances.
“We nearly won it, nearly lost it. It was end to end, not that we wanted it to be,” Lampard told BT Sport.
“It’s difficult to come here, I know that from coming here as a player. When the atmosphere turns, sometimes you’re hanging on, but it keeps it in our hands.
“Parts of our performance I’m not mad on. We gave away too many chances. We missed a lot as well. That’s something we’re doing a lot of at the minute – not putting our chances away.
“But can’t turn away from fact they had a lot of chances. They were arriving in our box too much. Credit to the players for their work-rate and hanging on in there, but sometimes you have to be more secure than that.”
Chelsea host Lille in Matchday 6, while Valencia travel to Amsterdam to face Ajax.
Read – Chelsea defender praises Mourinho for teaching him valuable lesson
See also – Five of the best Champions League matches featuring Premier League teams
