Chelsea lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Bernabeu; Frank Lampard remained positive of Chelsea's chances in the return leg, saying: "Special things can happen at Stamford Bridge"
Thursday 13 April 2023 16:33, UK
Frank Lampard knows from his own experiences as a player that "special things can happen at Stamford Bridge" as he remained positive despite Chelsea losing 2-0 to Real Madrid.
Madrid took control of their Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea by winning the first leg 2-0 as Ben Chilwell was sent off.
The match became a damage limitation exercise for Lampard's side in order to stay in the tie for the return leg in London after goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio.
Chelsea, whose season is close to ending with a whimper, have now failed to score in four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since December 1993.
Despite their problems in front of goal, Lampard was keeping positive for the second leg next Tuesday.
He told BT Sport: "I'm proud of the 10 men. The disappointing thing is that you give away a set piece for the second goal from switching off. I don't think with 10 men they carved us open. That was due to the spirit.
"We had our chances in the game. Three pretty good chances. Joao (Felix) earlier, Raheem (Sterling) and Mason (Mount) near the end. There are some good things, but the result is the reality.
"But I just said to the players that special things can happen at Stamford Bridge. They are a very good team, but we have to believe.
"There was a lot there for us, I thought, as good a team as they are, but it's been a difficult period for the players and there's 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. Maybe we're a bit short on that at the moment. I think there were some opportunities in possession to use the size of the pitch more and be a bit more aggressive.
"There was some good in there, but as I say the result is a fact, so next week is going to be a big fight."
He added: "We're realistic, we're 2-0 down against Real Madrid but that's done now. I've been involved with games that change. We're in a different place now where we want to prove some things wrong, to change the tone, to change the story. We went with 10 men against Real Madrid and it was a disappointing night for the lads but I also saw they gave everything. It will be different next week, we weren't favourites yesterday, we aren't favourites today. That's football. The possibilities are ours if we take them."
Lampard is currently Chelsea boss on just a caretaker basis after the club sacked Graham Potter. Nothing has been discussed about Lampard staying beyond the summer, with the process for identifying and appointing a full-time head coach continuing. However, Lampard presumably would be in the running for the job if he could steer them to a Champions League success, which now looks unlikely.
"I don't think one game will change my future - I'm here for a period of time until the end of the season," he said.
"I took that job under that idea and I understand it. I'm not thinking 'what might happen in May or June' - I'm trying to control things now. I don't see it that way and I'll get asked this question a lot in the next six weeks but in my mind I'm here for this period, but then we'll see."
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, insisted he was happy with the two-goal margin of victory and shrugged off suggestions they should have killed the tie.
"Don't forget that Chelsea has a good team and good players," he told BT Sport of his former side. "We won 2-0 and we took advantage of this game.
"It's not done yet. We have to fight and sacrifice at Stamford Bridge. This is absolutely normal. It's the quarter-final of the Champions League.
"We are satisfied with the game. It was a good game and now we focus on the next one.
"When they played with 10 men, they put a low block and it was not easy to find a solution.
"We spent a lot of energy in the game to try to press high, so at the end we were not so fresh to try to be able to find solutions. I think the result was good and also the performance.
"My players understand there is another 90 minutes to play. It will be difficult and we have to be ready."
