Lampard believes Chelsea can win against Real
"Anything can happen in football," said Lampard on April 17 at his pre-match press conference. "Chelsea is a competitive club and deserves to be in this phase of the Champions League. We understand that Real are a high-level opponent. But if we work hard, do the right things in the game, then everyone Anything can happen."
The 44-year-old coach believes that criticism of Chelsea's "collapse" this season is "a bit too much" and sees Real's comeback from the Champions League, if realized, will be a "really special moment".
But Lampard stressed that winning against Real was not as great as winning the Champions League in 2012, when he and Chelsea experienced special moments such as the elimination of Napoli in extra time in the round of 16 or defeating Barca at Camp Nou.
In the first leg at the Bernabéu, Chelsea entered the game strongly and created the first opportunity in the 2nd minute. N'golo Kante poked a favorable slot, but Joao Felix wasn't fast enough to get ahead of Eder. Militao, before finishing the corner, did not cause many difficulties for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
After that, Real gradually regained the game and went ahead in the 21st minute thanks to Karim Benzema's back kick. From the 59th minute, Chelsea had to play without men because Ben Chilwell was sent off after an illegal tackle on Rodrygo. Despite trying to hold out, the visitors received another goal from Marco Asensio's shot outside the penalty area in the 74th minute.
Lampard praised Real for having a great coach Carlo Ancelotti, a team with stars who have played at the highest level for a long time and have leadership like Karim Benzema, Luka Modric or Toni Kroos. He also said that Real have individuals who can shine and determine the outcome, regardless of whether they control the game or not.
Chelsea are going through a bad season when they are soon eliminated from the FA Cup and League Cup and are only 11th in the Premier League. The Stamford Bridge team even changed the general twice, when respectively sacking Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, before appointing Lampard as interim coach until the end of the season. He lost all three games on his return, against Real in the Champions League and Wolves and Brighton in the Premier League.
Despite the poor results, Lampard believes the fans will create a great atmosphere at Stamford Bridge in an important European match. The British coach emphasized that this is just the beginning and most importantly, the players must play with determination and enthusiasm to push the stands.
Today, Chelsea are without Kalidou Koulibaly, Armando Broja due to injury, and Ben Chilwell is suspended for receiving a red card in the first leg. Kepa Arrizabalaga, Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Mykhailo Mudryk and Thiago Silva will all be suspended for the next Champions League match if they receive another yellow card.
