Lampard demands more from his Chelsea players after Champions League draw

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said that the Blues must show a higher level of focus after being drawn against Bayern Munich at the round of 16 stage of the Champions League. The Blues qualified for the knockouts after a hard-fought 2-1 triumph over Lille in the final group stage game but that was not sufficient to keep them at the top of the standings.

As a result, there were expected to face one of Juventus, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig or Bayern Munich in the next round and the draw has pitted them against the German champions. Chelsea have fond memories of beating Bayern to the Champions League crown where Lampard was part of the team but the 41-year-old admits that the Bavarian giants pose a tough challenge to the current set of players.

Speaking on the club’s official website, Lampard talked about the difficulty of the challenge and urged his team to show more focus and concentration as they cannot afford any mistakes against the Bundesliga holders, he told: "This level of football, this level of Champions League knockout stage is a level of focus you need, absolute throughout both games. Tiny moments in a game like this can be so crucial.

“Of course we want to be at our best going into the game, hopefully in good form, but the concentration levels and how we approach it will be maybe the deciding factor. Because I think we should be confident that we can beat Bayern Munich but understand that they are very strong. [It's] A tough draw, but a good draw. I think that we knew that when you get through the group stages you are generally in with some big teams.”

Chelsea have been in a poor run of form with just three points attained from the past five league games and they have the chance to rectify any concerns when the transfer window reopens. The west London side managed to win their transfer ban appeal earlier this month meaning that they are free to spend on new players at the turn of the year.