Lampard vows to ensure Chelsea are not ‘stuck with one plan’ ahead of Super Cup

Frank Lampard wants his Chelsea side to be “fluid and adaptable” as the Blues look to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat to Manchester United when they face Liverpool in the Uefa Super Cup.

Chelsea’s season got off to the worst possible start as Lampard’s side lost 4-0 at Old Trafford, but the Londoners have a chance to recover quickly against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Lampard’s nightmare start: Five key things to know…

• Lampard picked young players like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham for Chelsea’s season opener against Man United.
• Although the duo impressed, Chelsea’s system struggled to cope with United’s counter-attacking football.
• Goals from Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Daniel James consigned Lampard’s men to a heavy defeat.
• Chelsea have an opportunity to bounce back when they face Liverpool in the Uefa Super Cup on Wednesday night.
• Lampard has hinted he could change his tactics for his second competitive game in charge.

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With Derby County last season, Lampard primarily used a 4-2-3-1 system, while Chelsea’s attacking formation against United on Sunday resembled a 4-2-4 at times.

The former England international has suggested he could change his approach in future matches but insists he will continue to prioritise “intensity” in his tactics.

Asked how he would like his side to play, Lampard told Uefa’s official website: “What I certainly want to be is a team that are quite fluid and adaptable in the way that we play.

“I don’t want to be stuck into one idea, one vision, one plan – I want the players to be adaptable, so that as we move forward, we can evolve. It might be daily, it might be weekly; it might be with formations, it might be with mindset. I want to be very open to that, and I want my players to be open to that.

“Intensity is everything for me. In a daily sense, how we train will be how we play. And intensity is many things. It’s not just physical, it’s also mental; it’s how you approach every day and every game. I had those times at Chelsea when I felt that when we were on it.

“We were competitive with each other daily; we would shout or lift someone up if they were training at a level that wasn’t good enough – that’s when we were at our best. So it should be. If you’re doing that daily, if you’re a group together, if you’re pushing each other on, that’s what brings a successful team.”

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Messi, Iniesta and Xavi the best I faced in Europe – Lampard

As part of the interview with Uefa, Lampard covered his Champions League history.

The 41-year-old, who won the competition with Chelsea in 2012, was asked to name the best players he faced in the Champions League.

He said: “Can I give you two answers? It’ll actually be three. The first one is [Lionel] Messi because he was the most incredible player – it was like you were playing against someone who’s not on the same level as all of us.

“The two players I always remember having the hardest time against were Xavi [Hernandez] and [Andres] Iniesta at Barcelona. They just played football around you, and you didn’t get near them. It was football that wasn’t normal to me; it was different from anything else I came up against.”