MY ACCOUNT
Chelsea boss Frank Lampard believes they can turn around their Champions League first-leg deficit to Real Madrid, vowing “special things can happen at Stamford Bridge”.
The Blues suffered a 2-0 loss at Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their quarter-final and were reduced to 10 men after Ben Chilwell was sent off.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio means it is Carlo Ancelotti’s side who head to London for next week’s return clash in the driving seat of the tie.
But Lampard is confident his team have what it takes to turn matters around, suggesting they need to rediscover their self-belief in their own quality.
“I’m proud of the 10 men,” he told BT Sport. “I think with 10 men, they carved us open. There are some good things, but the result is the reality.
“I just said to the players [in the dressing room], special things can happen at Stamford Bridge. They’re a very good team, but we have to believe.”
“It’s been a difficult period for them. There is a little bit of a lack of belief. I think they players have got to understand how good they are and what they can do.
“Maybe we’re a little bit short on that [self-belief], Next week is going to be a fight. There are some mindsets [where] we have to be much more positive.
“I’ve been involved in those nights at Stamford Bridge. That’s next week now, and I’m disappointed with the result, [but] we keep going.”
Lampard famously scored in Chelsea’s 4-1 second-leg victory against Napoli in the last-16 2012, en-route to lifting the Champions League trophy for the first time.
