Lampard urges 'more aggressiveness' from Chelsea as Wolves shake up Blues ahead of Real Madrid trip

Frank Lampard wants Chelsea to banish the moments of lethargy that cost them after watching Wolves grit their teeth for a 1-0 win over the Blues at Molineux.

It took a stunning 31st-minute goal from Matheus Nunes to get the better of Chelsea in what was caretaker boss Lampard's first game of his second stint at the helm.

Lampard featured in the most successful squad in Chelsea history, with the Englishman ending his career as the club's top scorer, which was no small feat for a midfielder.

He was a tireless presence in the Chelsea team, and he wants to see the same energy and focus from the current breed of players, feeling that it has been lacking at times.

"We know we're not in the position we want to be in and there's always a reason for that," Lampard said. "I was aware of this and did not expect to solve everything in one day.

"If you analyze it, in a Premier League game you need to have more aggression in your game, more speed, more competitive duels that go your way, rather than the opposition.

"It's a basic thing against a team fighting for its life in the Premier League. It will always dictate the outcome of the game, no matter how talented.

“There was a bit of that today and the players need to be aware of that because without that you can't win games and you can't be the team that Chelsea have been at different times , and we want to come back to it."

He added, "I'm here to help you, and that's not a scathing criticism, but what are the reasons we can be like this sometimes?

"I know there's a lot of talent in the team, I've seen it over the past few days, and I'm looking forward to working with it more."

The lack of a specialist striker at Chelsea once again cost them dearly as they lacked a focal point for their attack, with Kai Havertz again the nominal centre-forward.

Havertz is arguably best deployed in a midfield role and has given Wolves little reason to worry.

Real Madrid will also not have been petrified by what they saw, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Lampard's men on Wednesday.

Lampard has rested N'Golo Kante, whose return from a layoff with a hamstring injury is being carefully handled, but the Frenchman is expected to line up at the Santiago Bernabeu.

There was a pre-match blow on Saturday when Mason Mount was ruled out by what Lampard confirmed to be ongoing pelvic issues.

Lampard, after being sacked in January by Everton, relished his return to action with Chelsea, if not the result.

"I'm very happy to be back," he said. "But I'm disappointed that I couldn't give the fans a win in the first game.

"But we're off again and we have a big game ahead of us on Wednesday in the Champions League, and I'm very excited about that."

Wolves, meanwhile, could be punished by the Football Association after home fans were heard chanting 'Chelsea rent boys' during the game.

The FA said in January it would consider homophobic chanting a breach of its rules which could result in disciplinary action, while the Crown Prosecution Service classified it as a hate crime.

Chelsea said in a statement on Saturday: "Chelsea Football Club finds all forms of discriminatory behavior totally unacceptable.

"He condemns the homophobic chanting by some home fans at Molineux this afternoon. Chelsea will continue to work closely with Chelsea Pride and the wider football community to eradicate these despicable chants from our game."

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In a message of support, the Premier League said chanting "has no place in football or society".