MY ACCOUNT
Frank Lampard bemoaned Chelsea’s lack of cutting edge after the Blues were dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.
Rodrygo’s second-half brace sealed a 4-0 aggregate win for the reigning European champions but only after the home side had spurned several glorious first-half opportunities.
N’Golo Kante and Marc Cucurella both should have halved the aggregate deficit and Lampard, 44, knows those moments cost his side dearly.
The returning boss explained: “We had big energy, big organisation in the team tonight and caused Real Madrid a lot of problems.
“The only thing that was missing from our game was a goal. Our game was exactly how I wanted it, and one goal or two goals in that first 60 minutes changes the face of the tie.
“We didn’t do that and they [Madrid] are so clinical, you saw the result.
“I picked a team today that was the most on-form, the fittest team and the most ready for what they were going to ask of us. And they showed it.
“I thought for 60 minutes of the game, you probably saw why I picked the line-up.”
No let up
Exiting the Champions League curtails any last hopes of the Blues lifting silverware this term.
Currently languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, Chelsea are 11 points adrift of sixth-placed Aston Villa — meaning even Europa League qualification appears out of reach.
Yet Lampard, who is only in charge until the summer, insists his players should have no issues motivating themselves for their final seven fixtures.
He explained: “You’re playing for Chelsea FC. Every game you play, you have to give everything.
“I won’t let anyone off the hook and that standard cannot drop. That’s the one message for us to relay in-house once the dust settles on this game.
“I now get a period to work with the players. Some people would say, ‘What does it mean when you’re 11th or 12th?’. For me, it means a lot.
“We can’t be a team who turns up today and not other times, we need to keep that level of performance.”
The Blues return to action next Wednesday when Brentford are the visitors to Stamford Bridge.
