Pre-Season: Lampard Suffer First Chelsea Defeat

Frank Lampard suffered his first defeat as Chelsea manager as Leandro Damiao’s late strike gave Kawasaki a 1-0 friendly win in Yokohama.

The pre-season contest had appeared to be heading for a goalless draw at the Nissan Stadium, until Brazil striker Damiao headed home with just two minutes to go.

Despite the result, however, Lampard will still have taken much from his side’s run out in searing temperatures against the J-League champions, with midfielder Mason Mount once again catching the eye ahead of the new campaign.

However, it was the introduction of Ross Barkley as one of several half-time changes that gave Chelsea’s play some much-needed impetus in the second half, only for Shota Arai to thwart the visitors with a number of smart stops.