Chelsea Football club lost the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final match to Real Madrid by 2 goals to nil, but the interim manager is hopeful of a miracle.
Frank Lampard claims “special things can happen at Stamford Bridge” as the manager remains upbeat about Chelsea’s comeback after the defeat.
The Blues were outplayed by Real Madrid, as Los Blancos romped to a 2-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu with Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio getting on the scoresheet.
Chelsea are staring at a whimpering end to their Champions League campaign and need a miracle at Stamford Bridge to turn around their fortunes.
Despite going through a dry run in front of goal, having failed to score in four consecutive matches across all competitions for the first time since 1993, and Ben Chilwell suspended after he received a red card for a foul on Rodrygo, Lampard remains optimistic about a potential comeback next Tuesday, April 18, at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard’s Hope
He told BT Sport after the match that he was “proud of the ten men.
“The disappointing thing is you give away a set-piece [goal] from switching off.
“I don’t think with 10 men they carved us open, that was due to the spirit.
“And I think we had three pretty good chances in the game – Joao [Felix] early, Raheem [Sterling], Mason [Mount] near the end.
“So there’s some good things but the result is a reality – but I’ve just said to the players, ‘special things can happen at Stamford Bridge’.
“They’re a good team, but we have to believe”.
Chelsea went into damage limitation mode after Chilwell received his marching orders and were defending with two blocks of four to keep a rampaging Madrid at bay.
Read more: Chelsea: 4 Things They MUST Do To Beat Real Madrid
However, Lampard did not agree that his side dug deep and instead rued about the lack of belief in the team.
“There was a lot there for us, as good a team as they are, offensively, such a strong team, give you so many threats, but when we had the ball there was a little bit of a lack of belief.
“I think the players have got to understand how good they are and what they can do and maybe we’re a bit short on that at the minute.
“We do [have to go up a level in the second leg],” he added.
