Kovacic praised by Lampard for display against Bayern

Mateo Kovacic was singled out for praise by Chelsea boss Frank Lampard after a chastening Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues were brushed aside 3-0 by the German side in the first leg of the last-16 tie in London.

But the Croatian midfielder stood out on a night which Lampard described as a “reality check” and a “poor performance”.

“Kovacic played with a personality and quality that makes you go, ‘ok, he can play in pretty much any team’,” Lampard said.

“I learnt about the players. We went with the system that worked well at the weekend [the 3-5-2 against Tottenham]. But it is how you go about that.

“They outclassed us in every department and it’s quite sobering. We have to take it on the chin and work towards getting back to the levels we want to be.”

The Blues boss was far from pleased with midfielder Jorginho, who was cautioned for arguing with the referee after a late challenge on Kovacic and is suspended for the second leg against Bayern.

“Jorginho is done by talking to the ref, which is unnecessary when you’re on a yellow card,” Lampard added.

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