Eden Hazard of Real Madrid arrives prior to the Champions League quarter-final, second leg match with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (Image: Steve Bardens)
Things were different at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. When 40,000 people shout ‘man-on’, it’s a sign of an invested crowd and the Blues certainly had that when they set about trying to overcome a two-goal deficit.
Before the first whistle of the match, home and away support were making Chelsea and Real Madrid stars aware of the enormity of the occasion. Even if the Blues had little hope of completing a comeback, much like Chelsea’s performance, the atmosphere was a far cry from recent Premier League matches. It was fever pitch in west London as the Chelsea faithful looked to get behind their team, appreciating the effort that arrived, that had not manifested itself in the same way against Brighton.
Thibaut Courtois certainly heard the crowd at his back to the tune of a variety of musical expletives. Once again the former Chelsea stopper pulled off a series impressive saves to set the foundation for a Real Madrid victory and took each moment in his stride. The goalkeeper kissed the Real Madrid badge in response to the grief being directed his way at the close of the first 45 minutes which only served to rankle supporters who were desperate to inspire a comeback.
Frank Lampard’s side persisted with their efforts into the second half and while Rodrygo’s first strike sucked some of the energy from the crowd, it was his 80th-minute effort that signalled the end of the contest for many supporters. Much of Stamford Bridge had already emptied when the fourth official raised the board noting the amount of added time to be played in a symbolic moment for Chelsea’s season.
The middle of April has arrived and Chelsea are not left with an opportunity to lift a trophy at the end of the season. More emphatically, Tuesday night not only saw Chelsea’s chance to win the Champions League end, it also all but ensured the club won’t be in the competition next season.
Atmospheres such as Tuesday may be on pause, with frustration likely to quickly return for the club’s Premier League endeavours and a more successful term required in 2023/24. football.london learned that in Chelsea’s defeat, and three more things below:
Lampard’s tactics worked… sort of
It’s safe to say there was a degree of scepticism around Lampard’s team selection heading into the game. Many had expected attacking-minded options such as Mykhailo Mudryk to start from the off. Instead, accusations that starting four central midfield players in the shape of N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez in addition to a back three was tantamount to minimising damage arrived.
Speaking ahead of the game, Lampard explained his thought process. He said: “Well, I think when I look at us at the moment, firstly you have to respect the opponent, you have to respect the level of the game and I also have to pick players that I feel are in good shape.
“It’s up to us how that looks and how we use that offensively and defensively, how we can join in with pace and obviously the wing-backs in the team, shaping up like we did last week, was a part of the game I thought we didn’t use enough last week in the game.
“When we’re gonna use our system we must have possession of the ball, we must use our wing-backs high up the pitch and then you must join in from midfield to get into the box. I actually think we have the legs and energy in there and also defensively the capacity to deal with one of the most important parts of the pitch with the level of player they have in there.”
In the opening 45 minutes, Chelsea undoubtedly put Real Madrid under pressure. The system ensured that Reece James received the ball high up the pitch in a way that was not possible in the first leg and the Blues were more competitive in each moment in hassling the opposition and in every challenge.
There was no shortage of opportunities in front of goal for the likes of Kante and Cucurella, but that those were the stars being relied upon to score perhaps became telling in itself. Though, this season, Chelsea have not been able to rely upon anyone to provide a constant supply of goals.
In his post-match press conference, Carl Ancelotti, acknowledged the main issue Lampard’s system provide. He said: “I think we suffered the position of Kante, Camavinga was used to put pressure on Reece James and we had difficulty controlling Kante. In the second half I put Valverde on the left to control the position and we were much better there. In the first half, Modric looked to stay with Enzo and the position was not covered and Camavinga was left 2 v 1 and there were six crosses from that side.”
With such comments, it was little wonder Lampard was happy with his team selection for the opening portion of the game, but ultimately it fell short on this occasion, even if his former coach suggested Los Blancos had been saved by Thibaut Courtois.
Ashley Cole injects passion
Since taking the helm once again, Lampard has spoken about injecting what it means to play for Chelsea and the standards required to represent the club. The Chelsea icon is not the only player to have represented the club at the highest level present in west London however.
Ashley Cole is part of the 44-year-old’s staff and has taken a role close to Lampard in delivering this and other messages to the team. That was no less true against Real Madrid.
Ahead of the second leg against Chelsea’s Spanish visitors, Cole could be seen giving an impassioned counsel to the Blues backline. The former England international gave a tailored team talk during the warm and looked to hype Cucurella up in particular, as he tapped each of the Spaniard, Reece James, Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah in the chest.
His passion on the sidelines did not stop either. The coach was an active member of the Chelsea dugout and ensured the fourth official new when he felt the Blues were aggrieved by the referee’s decision. The 42-year-old received a stern talking to from an official when Eder Militao’s foul on Chalobah not resulting in a second yellow card card prompted Cole to burst out of his seat to match Frank Lampard’s fury before being guided back.
Even with little to play for, hopefully that passion can translate to the pitch for the remaining seven matches of the season.
Eden Hazard denied Stamford Bridge moment
Another Chelsea legend in attendance was Eden Hazard. The Belgian star departed Chelsea for Real Madrid on better terms than Courtois in 2019, and makes up a trio of former Blues in the Los Blancos dressing room, along with Antonio Rudiger.
Despite the clubs meeting each other in the knockout rounds of the last three competitions, Hazard has yet to receive the ovation he could warrant in west London. He did not make it on the pitch on this occasion, was not in the squad last term, while supporters were not in attendance in 2021.
Even as supporters left the stadium early they tried to capture Hazard’s attention, hoping the Belgian would give them a wave. He acknowledged them from his seat on the bench and his Chelsea interactions were not over for the evening.
Hazard’s departure was part of a series of events that saw Reece James and Mason Mount break through at Chelsea, and despite the duo being on loan for winger’s final season in London, he wasted little time meeting the Cobham products at full time. Hazard spoke to and embraced each before making his way back down the tunnel to hint his Chelsea connection was alive.
That continued later into the night as Stamford Bridge began to empty and the former Lille star emerged with Cesar Azpilicueta, a previous neighbour, deep in conversation as stars started to depart. A class act as always, Hazard also ensured to engage with remaining staff members around the pitch.
Source:.football.london
