Paul Merson criticised Frank Lampard’s tactics after Chelsea were stunned by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
The injury-ravaged Cherries clinched a 1-0 victory in west London on Saturday as Chelsea slipped to their fourth defeat in five league games.
The game appeared to be drifting for a goalless draw before Dan Gosling scored Bournemouth’s winner on 84 minutes after a VAR review.
Lampard – who admitted Chelsea “need to be better” – brought on Callum Hudson-Odoi and Michy Batshuayi before Bournemouth scored and Merson felt the Chelsea manager got his tactics wrong.
Asked about Bournemouth’s performance, Merson told Sky Sports: “They definitely didn’t deserve to lose but they didn’t dominate Chelsea.
“I watch Chelsea a lot and if you can get through the first 20 minutes against them, their confidence seems to go.
“They’ve got a lot of young players and they are easy to play against sometimes. The pitch looks so small for the way they want to play, it just looks to easy to defend against.
“With Frank, it’s not a good day at the office for him. It was 0-0 and sometimes you have to swallow the pill and settle for a draw.
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“He takes off Jorginho and brings on Hudson-Odoi and Batshuayi. Tammy Abraham was already on so he has all these forwards on, everyone is bumping into each other.
“I think Chelsea will need to go into the market next month. This is a crisis now. If other results go the wrong way for them, their lead [over the top-four] could be down to two points.
“They’ve got Tottenham away next. It’s hard for them now. I think they have to go in the market. This squad, for me, doesn’t get into the top four.”