Frank Lampard accepts he is under pressure to turn around Chelsea's results and says he is not wanting any favours from owner Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea have lost four of their last six Premier League matches - as many defeats as they had in their previous 23 - with last week's 3-1 setback against Manchester City leaving them ninth.
The Blues have taken 26 points from their opening 17 league games of 2020-21, three points fewer than at the same stage last season. They have never finished higher than sixth after failing to amass more than 26 points at this stage of a campaign.
Amid reports that Abramovich is lining up candidates to replace Lampard if the barren run continues, the club's all-time leading goalscorer acknowledges he cannot rely on past success to keep him in the job.
"All I want to concentrate on is the job in hand. I can't control certain things - I certainly don't want to rely on anything in the past," Lampard said.
"All I can look at is what I see right now, and what I see right now is one month ago everything was rosy and now a month later - a very quick time - everyone is looking at it negatively.
"I have to be the one to look at it positively. I can't control outside of that. I felt huge support from this club coming back to manage them.
"My time as a player I felt huge support for 13 years. In the end I left because they wanted to move on to other things. I understand what football is. I understand the demands and expectations.
"I don't think I've earned the right for anything that takes me out of that equation. All I can do is be honest about how I see it. I understand there is work to be done here and I understand the position we're in.
"When you're young and have had a tough year, plus new players coming in this year that are expected to drop into the Premier League and produce at a young age, there is going to be challenges. That's all I've got to say. The rest is out of my hands."
Lampard won 11 major honours during his playing days at Chelsea, each of those trophies coming after Abramovich's takeover of the club in 2003.
"I have to sit here and say when the owner came into Chelsea all those years ago, it made my career," Lampard added.
"Maybe I would have gone on elsewhere, but fortunately I had an owner who came in and changed the face of the club. It changed my life. But that shouldn't give me any headstarts.
"I'm here and I think the job I done last year, to get us up to fourth with huge constraints, was a big positive for us. After that now I have to go again.
"I never thought it would be a straight line - I was aware of that coming into the season, particularly when I didn't have time to work with the players.
"I remember in my first year as a player here I was an average Premier League player, year two I got slightly better, year three better and so on.
"When I look at my players I see it like that. I can't jump out of that and dictate what others think - that's beyond me. I'm just here to coach the club as good as I can."
Chelsea can put their league struggles behind them on Sunday as they turn focus to the FA Cup and a third-round tie with Morecambe.
The Blues have progressed past this stage every season since 1997-98 but Lampard will not allow his players to take their fourth-tier opponents lightly in what will be the first ever meeting between the sides.
"I've been involved in games at Chelsea where we have struggled against certain opposition at times," Lampard said. "I know the feeling going into these games - we have to absolutely apply ourselves going into the game to get the right result.
"If we apply ourselves and our preparation is right then the execution is normally right because of the players we have.
"At the same time we need to realise lower-league teams will raise their game and see it as a huge occasion. They'll do anything they can to get a result.
"My players are very aware of that, and if they're not then I'll make sure they are. This is by no means going to be a comfortable afternoon."
Scott McTominay scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United booked their spot in the FA Cup fourth round with a slender 1-0 win over Watford on Saturday.
McTominay was one of only two survivors from the EFL Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday and the midfielder – captaining the Red Devils for the first time – headed his side in front after just five minutes.
Eric Bailly and Juan Mata squandered good chances to extend United's lead before the interval, while Dean Henderson had to be alert to thwart Adam Masina.
United rarely threatened a second during a dismal second half but they saw things out with the minimum of fuss to inflict a 10th straight defeat for the Hornets at Old Trafford.
The hosts wasted little time stamping their authority on the tie, McTominay heading home his fourth goal of the season from Alex Telles' outswinging corner in the fifth minute.
United goalkeeper Henderson was out quickly to deny Masina soon after, while Bailly flashed a header wide from another dangerous Telles ball into the penalty area.
Mata fired straight at Daniel Bachmann following a superb flicked pass from Donny van de Beek as United ultimately failed to add to their advantage before half-time.
Solskjaer brought on Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial with just over 20 minutes remaining in a desperate bid to inject some life into the home team’s stuttering attack.
Rashford should have put the seal on the win, but his low effort after a fine run was too close to Bachmann.
Paris Saint-Germain saw off Brest 3-0 to collect their first victory under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino and close the gap on Ligue 1 leaders Lyon.
PSG were held to a 1-1 draw by Saint-Etienne in Pochettino's first game in charge on Wednesday but had too much quality for Brest in Saturday's encounter at the Parc des Princes.
Moise Kean's 11th goal of the campaign in all competitions set the reigning champions on their way with 16 minutes played and substitutes Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia each got on the scoresheet in the final 10 minutes.
The win - less emphatic than the scoreline may suggest - moved Pochettino's men within a point of pacesetters Lyon, who battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Rennes and retain top spot.
Real Madrid failed to take full advantage of Atletico Madrid's cancelled fixture with Athletic Bilbao as they played out a toothless 0-0 draw at lowly Osasuna.
LaLiga leaders Atleti saw their game called off as the snow from Storm Filomena battered the capital, which also delayed Madrid's flight for the clash at El Sadar.
Whether it was the disruption to the travel or the freezing conditions, Madrid put in a turgid display and failed to muster a single shot on target in 45 forgettable first-half minutes.
There was little improvement after the break - despite two disallowed goals - and Madrid could only move to within a point of Atleti, who now have three games in hand.
The falling snow was the biggest talking point of a dire opening period in which Madrid saw 72.3 per cent of the ball without mustering any effort of real meaning.
Indeed, the only action of note was when Thibaut Courtois smartly parried Oier's thumping header from Ruben Garcia's corner.
It took until the 49th minute for Madrid to test home keeper Sergio Herrera, who batted away Marco Asensio's bending effort with relative ease.
Karim Benzema did bundle home after Herrera brilliantly kept out his initial point-blank header, only for the offside flag to swiftly curtail the celebrations.
There was a sense of deja vu in the closing stages when Mariano Diaz squirmed home from Benzema's take down but both men were offside when the initial pass was played, as a poor game petered out into a draw.
What does it mean? Madrid feel the freeze
Admittedly, it is pretty rare to see such Baltic-looking conditions in Spain but that alone does not account for Madrid's insipid display. Zinedine Zidane's side had a great opportunity to put pressure on Atleti against a team struggling in the relegation zone but it was one they missed.
Madrid forwards go cold
Madrid's front three of Asensio, Benzema and Eden Hazard just did not click into gear. Asensio offered one shot on target and a key pass, but both he and Hazard - who provided neither a shot on target nor a key pass - were hauled off in the second half. Benzema created a sole chance in the final minute of the match.
Herrera does the job
He had little to do in truth but Herrera was a constant source of calm whenever Madrid posed a threat with a tricky cross into the area and marshalled a stern Osasuna defence throughout.
What's next?
Madrid's attentions now turn to Athletic Bilbao and the semi-finals of the Supercopa de Espana on Thursday, while Osasuna visit Granada on Tuesday.
Teenage striker Matthew Hoppe scored a stunning hat-trick to finally banish Schalke's winless run after 30 Bundesliga matches.
The German giants had not claimed a league victory since January 2020 heading into Saturday's home game against Hoffenheim.
Failure to win again would have seen Schalke equal Tasmania Berlin's record stretch of 31 Bundesliga matches without success from 1965-66.
However, an inspired outing from 19-year-old Hoppe set up a 4-0 triumph at the Veltins-Arena, ending that miserable streak and moving Schalke off the foot of the table.
The American had never previously netted a senior goal but repaid the faith shown in him by Christian Gross, Schalke's fourth coach of the season.
Hoppe's opener came in contentious circumstances three minutes before half-time, with a handball on the edge of the hosts' box unpunished before a rapid counter saw Amine Harit send the forward through to lift a superb finish over Oliver Baumann.
Harit created all three Hoppe goals, although the scorer did the majority of the heavy lifting on each occasion, rounding Baumann for the second in the 57th minute and beating the goalkeeper with another dinked effort six minutes later to complete his treble - the first by an American in the Bundesliga.
The goal Harit deserved completed the scoring 11 minutes from time, drilled beyond Baumann at his near post to end Schalke's drought in spectacular fashion.
Having avoided a share of Tasmania's unwanted piece of history, Schalke are above Mainz and now only three points away from the relegation play-off place, although 16th-placed Arminia Bielefeld play on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Schalke's clean sheet left opponents Hoffenheim as the only side yet to record a shutout in the top flight this term.
Antonio Conte is at a loss to understand why Inter struggle to get going in games this season as they look to get back to winning ways in Serie A.
Inter were 2-0 down to Sampdoria by half-time in their previous outing and, despite Stefan de Vrij's header in the second period, could not complete a comeback.
With Milan losing to Juventus in midweek, Inter sit just one point behind their league-leading city rivals, though have a tough visit to third-place Roma to come on Sunday.
Inter had more attempts, more possession and attempted more passes in the second half against Sampdoria than they did in the first – continuing a trend which has been prevalent throughout the campaign.
Across their 16 Serie A games, Conte's side have managed 13 goals from a total of 116 attempts - of which 36 were on target - in the opening 45 minutes of proceedings.
In contrast, when looking at their second-half numbers, Inter have scored 28 times having attempted 133 shots, with 57 of those hitting the target.
Inter have also crafted more chances and more big opportunities after the break, while their passing accuracy remains similar (86.10 per cent in the second half in contrast to 86.87 per cent in the first).
Conte, however, is unsure as to why his team are having such issues.
"I don't know if there is an explanation, last year it was the opposite," the Inter boss told a news conference.
"If now the opposite is happening, I don't know why. The approach has always been the right one, even against Sampdoria, we dominated and then we went down by two goals.
"The attitude must be considered and ours has never been wrong."
Conte also reaffirmed that there will be no business done by Inter in the January transfer window, seemingly casting doubt over whether Christian Eriksen will, as previously expected, leave the club this month.
Inter's chiefs have confirmed that Eriksen is free to depart Inter, with the Denmark playmaker having created just six chances from open play this season, failing to register either a goal or assist during his nine league appearances.
Asked if speculation over Eriksen's future was impacting his squad, Conte said: "I'm not talking about it, whoever wants to is free to do so. We must try to do our best on the pitch, from here until the end of the season."
Andrea Pirlo warned the victory over leaders Milan will be "of little use" to Juventus if they fail to defeat Sassuolo on Sunday and says the Rossoneri remain the team to beat in the title race.
Champions Juve ended Milan's 27-match unbeaten run in the Italian top flight with a 3-1 victory at San Siro on Wednesday.
The Turin giants had eased to a ruthless 4-1 win over Udinese in their first match of the year last weekend and an impressive triumph over Milan served as a warning to their rivals.
Juve boss Pirlo stressed the importance of his side maintaining the high standards they have set when they take on a Sassuolo team that are just a point behind them in the table.
The former Italy playmaker said in a media conference on Saturday: "It was an important victory in Milan, at an important moment too, but if we don't win tomorrow, it will be of little use.
"I still consider Milan the team to beat, because they are at the top of the table."
He added: "We take our responsibilities. We have been winning for nine years, it is normal that there is pressure on us. I've asked the team to improve their concentration and mental strength, especially when we take the lead, that is a very important phase.
"We must have the same desire to achieve a result - whoever the opponent is - and then we will see where we are in April."
Matthijs de Ligt became the latest Juve player to test positive for COVID-19 this week, with Juan Cuadrado and Alex Sandro having missed the win over Milan after contracting the coronavirus.
Pirlo is not feeling sorry for himself after the Netherlands defender joined the list of absentees.
"The positive cases affect us, as they affect anyone. But let's think about moving forward, there are other problems," he said.
"I have four defenders, in addition to [Alessandro] Di Pardo, who can play on the flank. I will choose between them, because we are in the bubble and we cannot summon other players."
Pirlo will be able to call upon Giorgio Chiellini and Merih Demiral at Allianz Stadium this weekend, while Alvaro Morata will be checked on to see if the striker can return from a thigh injury.
Daniel James knows the pressure is on to seize any first-team opportunities he gets at Manchester United ahead of the FA Cup tie with Watford.
United host their Championship opponents in the third round on Saturday and James believes the competition retains a special place in the football calendar.
The Wales winger, who scored a famous FA Cup goal while he was at Swansea City against Brentford, is hoping to be involved at Old Trafford.
James impressed against Leeds United last month and was also in the team against Leicester City, but they were two of only five Premier League starts he has been handed this season.
Having featured in 33 Premier League games last season, he knows the competition for places at United is tougher this time around, with the club sitting level on points alongside champions Liverpool at the top of the table.
"I have been working hard in training every day and the manager knows I am ready when called upon," James said to United's website.
"I will just keep working hard in training and doing what I do.
"Being at this club, there is always going to be lots of competition and the forwards have been doing so well.
"So it is about when I do get my opportunity, I have got to take mine. That is the way I have been looking at it.
"I have not been playing as much so I have been able to do a lot more stuff in training, extra stuff, and I have to keep doing that and look at things I can improve and also work on the things I am good at.
"It [the FA Cup] means everything. Growing up, there have been some unbelievable games over the years.
"I was at Swansea when I watched Jesse Lingard's extra-time goal [for United in the final against Crystal Palace]. It is a special competition."
Asked about his memorable goal, the winger added: "It is a great memory and a special moment.
"There are not many times when the whole pitch is open. I just had to keep that composure and when it went in the back of the net, I knew it was a special goal."
Karolina Pliskova has crashed out of the Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open in the second round, while Coco Gauff was also eliminated.
Third seed Pliskova suffered a stunning 6-2 6-4 defeat to Anastasia Gasanova, a qualifier ranked at 292 in the world.
Pliskova fell to defeat in only 75 minutes on Saturday, the first time she had lost to an opponent outside of the top 50 in over a year.
Gasanova, 21, beat Mona Barthel in her WTA main draw debut this week and went on to save five of the six break points she faced to record an even bigger upset against Pliskova.
"It was not me on the court," a stunned Gasanova said after winning in her first match against a top-100 player, booking a last-16 clash against Sara Sorribes Tormo.
"I was so sure of myself. I'm really happy right now.
"I'm really surprised, but when I woke up today, I thought, 'Why not? Why can't I win this match?'
"Actually, I thought I would lose in qualies or something like that, but I just kept pushing myself, like, I need to win and I want to win.
"I had a [2021] goal to be top 200, actually! I don't know if I did this today, but that's my goal.
"To play against a top-10 player is a great opportunity for me, and it's a great chance to show how I could play."
Pliskova, therefore, starts her year on a negative note, but there were no such problems for second seed Elina Svitolina, who was a 6-4 6-1 winner against Vera Zvonareva.
Last year's Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza cruised through with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and sixth seed Elena Rybakina won in straight sets against Xiyu Wang.
Muguruza will face Maria Sakkari in an intriguing last-16 match next after the Greek ended the hopes of American Gauff with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 victory.
Top seed Sofia Kenin, who made two grand slam finals last year and won in Melbourne, will resume her campaign against Yulia Putintseva on Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic could feature for Milan for the first time in seven weeks when the Serie A table toppers host Torino on Saturday.
The 39-year-old produced scintillating early season form, scoring 10 goals in six top-flight matches following a bout of coronavirus to establish Stefano Pioli's side as the pacesetters in the Scudetto race.
However, Ibrahimovic suffered a hamstring strain after netting a brace in a 3-1 win at Napoli on November 22, before a calf injury in training last month further delayed his return.
Pioli told reporters on Friday that he did not expect the former Sweden international to return but he was listed in a 24-man squad published on Milan's website on the day of the game.
The Rossoneri's lead at the Serie A summit is down to a point after they suffered a first league defeat of the season at home to Juventus in midweek, the reigning champions running out 3-1 winners as Federico Chiesa scored twice.
Milan's form without Ibrahimovic this season has held up very well, with a 70 per cent win ratio in the matches without him edging 66.7 per cent from four wins and two draws with him on the field in Serie A.
However, Pioli's men average slightly more goals (2.3 to 2.1), shots (17 to 15.6) and crosses (12.8 to 11.2) per 90 minutes with Ibrahimovic as their attacking spearhead.
Leon Goretzka said Bayern Munich only had themselves to blame after letting a two-goal lead slip in a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.
Robert Lewandowski and Goretzka were on target to put the European champions in command after only 26 minutes at Borussia-Park, but the hosts came storming back.
Jonas Hofmann struck twice and Florian Neuhaus gave Gladbach the lead four minutes into the second half as the leaders fell to pieces.
The Bavarian giants were unable to prevent seeing their 20-match unbeaten run come to a stunning halt, and the 24 goals they have conceded from 15 games is their worst defensive record at this stage of the season since the 1981-82 campaign.
Midfielder Goretzka knows Bayern must tighten up in their quest for yet more honours.
"Giving the game away like that after leading 2-0 hurts. The first 30 or 35 minutes were the best we've played in a long time," he said.
"We were in control, but then we lost the ball twice where we shouldn't lose it and didn't react properly. Then it's 2-2 in no time. Their winner comes from a similar situation. We invited the opponent three times and they took their chances.
"Then you're behind and it doesn't get easier when a team is able to just concentrate on defending. In the second half, we had a bit of bad luck here and there.
"They were individual mistakes, but you can still position yourself better beforehand so that these ball losses are not so devastating. We are conceding too many goals against at the moment."
Hofmann now has six goals from 14 goals in all competitions and the winger felt Marco Rose's side exploited Bayern's high defensive line superbly.
"We're over the moon. It was a tough fight. After going 2-0 down, I'm sure many didn't expect us to be able to turn it around. We scored the first two goals exactly as we had imagined.
"Bayern defended with a very high line, so we had to get behind the back four. We did that very well. We had a hard time at the start, but we got into the game more and more.
"It was great that we took the lead right after the break. In the end, it was a tough battle defending that all. That's part of it, especially against Bayern."
Gladbach's victory put them level with Werder Bremen on 26 Bundesliga successes against Bayern, a total that no side has bettered.
Neco Williams hopes improving Liverpool's FA Cup record will be a motivating ambition that drives the team on to the final in this season's competition.
Liverpool beat Aston Villa 4-1 in the third round on Friday, though the hosts were forced to field a team comprised of youngsters as a result of a significant COVID-19 outbreak.
Jurgen Klopp's men ended their long wait for a Premier League title last season and tasted Champions League glory in 2019, though they have not won the FA Cup since 2006.
That is a run right-back Williams, who played the full 90 minutes at Villa Park, is eager to change.
"The FA Cup is not a cup we have done that well in, so I think this year we are looking forward to pushing on and to get to the final and hopefully win it," he told the club's website.
"It's always good to score goals and that just gives the lads who scored the confidence to go and do that in the next game, keep adding them goals to the charts.
"The more clinical they are, the more goals they are going to get. So it was good for the lads."
Williams, 19, sees increased opportunities to play as another advantage of an FA Cup run, while praising the efforts of Villa's battling youngsters.
He added: "I think the more rounds we go through the FA Cup then hopefully the more game-time I can get.
"I think if I was a young lad or I hadn't yet made my debut, the first thing I would want to do is make an impression and to give everything that I have got.
"And to be fair to their lads, they did what they were told to do and they gave us a good game."
James Milner played on the opposite side of the defence to Williams and felt improvements had been needed after the Reds went into half-time with the match level at 1-1.
Milner told BT Sport: "I think obviously we needed to do some things better.
"We started pretty well with the counter-pressing and pressed on the ball, but then maybe didn't get it right – especially for the goal [we] let them out of a couple of situations in the corner where they shouldn't have got out.
"They're good players, they're at Aston Villa for a reason. Every single time you're not quite there, you're going to get punished. They took the goal and we had to lift ourselves again."
Steph Curry had Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and team-mate Eric Paschall purring about his game-changing impact in the comeback win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Golden State trailed 85-63 deep into the third quarter at Chase Center on Friday and looked set for a second straight loss to the Clippers, only for a 52-20 surge to see them emerge 115-105 winners.
Curry was the driving force behind that recovery, finishing with 38 points and 11 assists.
He was 13-of-24 from the field and nine-of-14 from three-point range in the win, and now averages 30.6 points through nine games this season.
His efforts in triggering the recovery - 33 of Curry's points came when the Warriors were trailing - were at once exhilarating but also exactly what Kerr knows his star man can produce.
Kerr said. "It's just who Steph is. He's been doing this for many, many years and it's one of the reasons he's a two-time MVP and he's a phenomenal basketball player.
"Usually with Steph when he has a tough game he bounces back [in] the next one. That's part of his character, part of his competitiveness. He found something out there, he found some openings, and got himself going."
That "tough game" for Curry came in the 108-101 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday, when he had a season-low 13 points.
This time it was a different story, and Paschall, in his second season in the NBA, was thrilled to be able to share a court with a red-hot Curry.
"Sometimes I've gotta remember that I'm his team-mate," Paschall said. "I'm so used to watching it on TV.
"Sometimes I gotta remember like, 'Hey, hold on. You're playing with Steph'. But sometimes you do want to sit there and watch, I’m not going to lie. It's very entertaining.
"I get a front-row seat so I'm not complaining."
Curry exited early in the fourth quarter before returning to finish the job.
He explained how there had been some confusion about how prominent a role he would play in that final period, after misunderstanding a message from associate head coach Mike Brown.
"Me and Mike Brown, he told me at the end of the third quarter break ... he said something like he was going to give me a minute and I didn't hear what he said after that," Curry said.
"I thought I was coming out for a minute and was going to play 10 or 11 minutes in the fourth because I had a roll on.
"But he said, 'You're going to keep playing, I’ll give you possession for a minute and then take you out'."
When Curry stepped off the court after that minute, momentum was all with the Warriors. By the time he returned, they were ahead, a remarkable victory incoming.
Kawhi Leonard warned the Los Angeles Clippers "have to change" after they were made to pay by the Golden State Warriors for another second-half capitulation on Friday.
The Clippers held a commanding 85-63 lead with just over three minutes of the third quarter remaining at Chase Center, but slumped to a 115-105 defeat.
Steph Curry was their chief tormentor, scoring half of his 38 points in the third quarter to leave the Clippers 6-4 in the NBA Western Conference.
The Clippers have lost eight games when leading by at least 15 points since the start of last season, according to ESPN, letting more advantages by such a margin slip than any other team in that period.
Four-time NBA All-Star Leonard, who scored 24 points, said such collapses are unacceptable and must be addressed.
The small forward declared: "We just have to change, pretty much. We've got to change it. We've got to get better."
He added: "I'm not about to tell you what we're doing in the locker room. It's locker room talk."
Leonard felt the Clippers made it far too easy for the Warriors (5-4) to storm back and secure what appeared to be such an unlikely victory when they were so far behind.
"Our third quarter was terrible as far as defense. Them able to get easy looks, coming down just laying up the ball with no one there. Steph Curry did a few times." said Leonard.
"In that third quarter, just guys coming down and getting either open looks or just walking to the basket and laying up the ball."
Paul George, the Clippers' highest scorer with 25 points as well as laying on seven assists, echoed Leonard's sentiments.
He said: "We want to just be great as a unit, just demand greatness out of everybody. We've got to be better. All of us included. This was a team loss, more than anything. We've just got to get better. We'll work on it."
George added: "I think this is good that something like this happened for this team so early. Because fact of the matter is, we have to be a better closing-out team."
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