Lampard singled out the Spaniard for not thinking about his teammates.
Chelsea full-back Marcos Alonso was reportedly on the receiving end of a furious dressing down from manager Frank Lampard following his side’s 3-3 draw at The Hawthorns on Saturday evening.
Alonso had started the game at left-back but was one of two players hooked at the interval as Chelsea found themselves three goals down to newly promoted West Brom.
According to The Athletic, the Spaniard attempted to watch the second half from the team coach instead of taking up a position in the stands with the rest of the substitutes. Lampard was angry at Alonso attempting to board the bus without his permission and confronted the defender after full-time to let his feelings be known.
Lampard is said to have praised his side’s togetherness in salvaging a point but blasted Alonso for showing he wasn’t bothered about his teammates. Alonso, who was guilty of errors in the buildup to two of West Brom’s goals, did return to the ground early in the second half though was seen in a different area to where the Chelsea substitutes were seated.
Even before this incident, it was likely the former Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland player would struggle to hold down a regular starting berth at left-back in Lampard’s team. Ben Chilwell arrived from Leicester in the summer and is expected to become first choice when he recovers from the heel injury which has so far prevented him from making his Premier League debut.
Lampard, meanwhile, managed to stand up for goalkeeper and defend him from the same sort of criticism he has done little to deflect in recent months.
“I certainly won’t go to the point of saying he’s played his last game for Chelsea,” he told reporters. “I think it’s been a difficult time for Kepa – I know it and he knows it. But we should certainly not jump to that conclusion.
“Also – and I felt quite strongly about this – we should understand that Kepa is a young man. A lot of the spotlight on him I think has become slightly unfair.
“I have to protect him because I know he’s a good lad, playing with absolute professionalism and trying to do the best he can.”
It must be noted that Lampard has stood in front of TV cameras in recent months and stated that the Spaniard’s errors have cost his team points.
