Chelsea finished their dismal season on a positive note playing a Mauricio Pochettino style of football.
The Blues lined up in Pochettino’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation against Newcastle to offer the same attacking approach they took to Old Trafford on Thursday. Only this time it worked.
On the day Pochettino signed a three-year contract to take over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea managed to defend and held Newcastle to a 1-1 draw.
Pochettino is set be announced as the new Chelsea head coach within 48 hours but was not as the game and gave space to Lampard, who was taking charge of his final game in charge.
Raheem Sterling forced a Kieran Trippier own goal to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s early strike in an end-to-end match.
Chelsea fought incredibly hard to raise their game to compete against Newcastle, who had already qualified for the Champions League.
The open, attacking system allowed players like Sterling, Noni Madueke and Joao Felix to express themselves but another layer of sophistication is needed.
Sterling missed a wonderful late chance that deflected off Dan Burn’s arm but VAR didn’t deem it worthy of a penalty.
Joao Felix and Christian Pulisic missed further late chances to show the need for a new striker next season.
Pochettino will also need to develop a system that allows players to attack in a more coordinated fashion, while they will need to protect their goal better.
The Chelsea No1 was still forced to make several huge saves, notably including a one-on-one with Miguel Almiron.
It was a positive end to a dismal season in which Chelsea recorded a record low points total, finishing with 44 points and in 12th, their lowest position since 1994 in the Premier League.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Trevoh Chalobah and Joao Felix were among the Blues players to feature in possibly their last game for Chelsea.
Mason Mount, who could join Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal this summer, was involved in the post-match lap of appreciation as Chelsea players thanked supporters for sticking with them in the worst season in recent memory.
Pochettino will soon arrive to resolve the uncertainty and lift Chelsea from the ashes of a 2022-23 season to forget.
