Lampard is proud of Chelsea despite losing to Real

"I'm proud of the player when I play with 10," Lampard told BT Sport. "Real Madrid couldn't find space in front of us. I'm just disappointed that the team conceded a second goal from a set-piece."

At the Bernabeu, Benzema opened the scoring for the host in the 21st minute, before visiting defender Ben Chilwell received a direct red card in the 59th minute for dragging Rodrygo down. Real scored the second in the 74th minute with Marco Asendio's shot from the edge of the penalty area, after the corner.

Lampard believes that despite the lack of players, the players should not concede a goal from a dead ball. "The problem in this goal is that the player lacks connection, loses focus," he added. "Players are not ready to defend that situation. They should have focused on the basics when defending corners."

The English coach also regretted when Chelsea missed opportunities like the situation of Joao Felix at the beginning of the game, or Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount at the end of the game. Chelsea used three central defenders in this match, partly to block Vinicius Junior on the left wing of Real. "Defending one-on-one against Vinicius is a problem for any team," Lampard added in his post-match press conference. "Chelsea had to use a two-versus-one option, but midfielder Wesley Fofana received a yellow card early, so it didn't help much."

Despite being led by two goals, Lampard thinks the situation is not over yet because Chelsea will have the home field advantage in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. "Chelsea has a lot of talent, and we need more courage, better ball handling and more decisive decisions," he told Chelsea TV. "This can only improve in practice and I will try to bring the players together. Something special can happen in the second leg."

Lampard was appointed to lead Chelsea on April 6, under an interim contract until the end of this season. After two matches he took charge, Chelsea lost to Wolverhampton 0-1 and Real 0-2. In the next two matches, they play at home against Brighton and Real in the second leg. Lampard does not fear the future if results do not improve. "I'm here to lead the team until the end of the season, then see what happens," he said.