Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was delighted after their 3-1 win at Bournemouth.
Conor Gallagher struck early, before Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix scored in the final ten minutes for the 3-1 win. Matias Vina has previously pulled the hosts level.
Lampard said, “I’m happy. We came in off the back of a tough run, it’s been a tough year and there is a lot work to do.
“But the performance and the result in isolation are really good, we deserved to win the game. It’s a nice step forward for the lads. To work hard and come to a place that has been very hard for a lot of teams this year… I’m very happy.”
On changes to the team, he explained: “In the modern game, those changes are huge. It’s important with the squad that we have that people feel like they can come in and affect the game. We’ve worked towards that and I think every one of them did.
“Joao Felix gets his goal. All involved in the goals and active in the game. That’s the competition you need if you want to compete at the level we want to get to.”
Lampard added: “I don’t know why the players can’t grasp it, there are a few younger players we’ve brought in and it doesn’t matter if you’ve won a World Cup, you’re moving to the Premier League. There are a few players finding their feet.
“Typically at Chelsea, one or two have fed into the group and now we have more. It’s understandable that as a group finding rhythm and confidence can be difficult. This is a first step, it won’t be plane sailing but there is talent there and the players need to come together to get us to where we want to be.”
