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After losing to Real Madrid, Frank Lampard acknowledges that Chelsea lacks confidence.
As a result of Wednesday’s 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, interim manager Frank Lampard of Chelsea has acknowledged that his team is experiencing confidence issues.
The Blues were thoroughly defeated and were fortunate to just give up twice through Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio on each side of the halftime interval after Ben Chilwell’s second-half dismissal.
Chelsea put up yet another subpar display; they have now gone four games without scoring for the first time since December 1993. Lampard said that the team’s confidence is low.
“There was a lot there for us, I felt,” he told BT Sport. “As good a team as they are, but I could see a moment where the players…it’s been a difficult period for them.
“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, and maybe we’re a bit short on that at the minute, and it’s not easy to come here like that.”
Lampard urged his team and the fans to maintain optimism about Chelsea’s prospects of making it further despite the challenging circumstances.
“I don’t think, with ten men, that they carved us open,” Lampard said. “At that time in the game, we had our chances. We had three pretty good chances: Joao [Felix] early, Raheem [Sterling], Mason [Mount] near the end.
“There were some good things, but the result is the reality, but I’ve just said to the players that special things can happen at Stamford Bridge. They’re a very good team, but we have to believe.”
He continued: “There’s some details in our game, and we have to understand there’s some mindset stuff to be much more positive in what we’re doing. If we can do that…I’ve been involved in those nights at Stamford Bridge.”
Prior to the second leg, Chelsea will face Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday. Real is then scheduled to visit the Bridge the following Tuesday.