It was not really a moment of confusion for Chelsea when Ross Barkley stepped up to take a penalty on Tuesday night and missed.
Frank Lampard has backed the Englishman to be his designated penalty taker despite Jorginho’s better record from the spot.
Prior to the 41-year-old’s appointment, Jorginho took over the penalty responsibilities under Maurizio Sarri and under the current regimen of very few experienced players, it was expected for him to carry that responsibility forward into the new season.
However, just minutes before the final whistle when Willian and Jorginho were expressing a desire to take the spot-kick, it was Barkley who took the ball and made a failed attempt.
It ended up costing Chelsea a crucial point at home as Valencia’s Rodrigo scored the winner in the 74th minute.
After the game, Lampard jumped to Barkley’s defence as he said, “Ross is the penalty taker. He’s scored a couple in pre-season and he’s been the taker whenever he’s started or come on in games.
“I don’t know what the conversation was but Willian and Jorginho were the penalty takers from the start and Ross was once he came on.”
“We shouldn’t lose the game clearly, I think at least not lose and probably win,” Lampard added. “We had a fair few chances, not incredible chances, but I don’t think they tested Kepa until they scored and then we obviously had the penalty which we missed.
“So we must keep our heads up, there is a long way to go in the group. [It’s] a lesson in the Champions League, sleep for one second and teams at this level have the quality to hurt you. That is a lesson for us but there are five games to go.”
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