Chelsea Sacks Manager Frank Lampard

Manager Frank Lampard with Derby County. Photo by BPI/Shutterstock (10249339pv)

Premier League giants Chelsea have sacked their manager Frank Lampard. The club made the announcement on Monday.

The move comes after a series of poor results that saw Chelsea losing five out of their past eight matches in the league. They are currently No. 9 in the standings, trailing leaders Manchester United by 11 points.

Lampard, who had a successful career as a player with Chelsea, was hired as the club’s manager ahead of the 2019-20 season. After a promising first season at the helm, the former England international was expected to take a step to title contention in 2020-21.

But despite the arrival of expensive players like Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, Lampard failed to establish Chelsea as one of the top clubs in the Premier League and forced owner Roman Abramovich to make a change.

“This was a very difficult decision for the club, not least because I have an excellent personal relationship with Frank, and I have the utmost respect for him,” said Abramovich in a statement. “He is a man of great integrity and has the highest of work ethics.”

Chelsea is reportedly already working to bring in Lampard’s successor. The club had conversations with Ralf Rangnick and Leipzig’s manager Julian Nagelsmann, but both coaches declined the offers.

According to ESPN, Chelsea is now focused on Thomas Tuchel and is expected to sign the former Paris Saint-Germain boss in the coming days.