Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League after losing 4-0 to Real Madrid. Photo: Getty Images
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba said «I don't recognize my club anymore» in a furious attack on the Chelsea owners who watched their team relegated from the Champions League.
Rodrigo's two goals secured Real Madrid a 4-0 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals. and effectively ended Chelsea's season, with the club also stuck in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Chelsea owners Todd Boly-Clearlake Capital have come under fire from pundits and fans in recent weeks, sacking two head coaches and spent over £600m on the transfer market in less than a year.
The owners also made many changes behind the scenes, sacking the club's medical staff, and former Chelsea striker Drogba, a former teammate of interim head coach Frank Lampard, added his voice to their criticism.
Drogba, speaking on French TV Canal+, said: “I knew this club with a certain class in the era of [Roman] Abramovich, but today I miss it. It is very hard for me to see how they got rid of certain people.
“They have to return to their principles and values. I don't recognize my club anymore.»
'It will take work to get Chelsea back'
Lampard declined to comment on Drogba's assessment, but insisted he was confident that Chelsea would let go of their current problems.
«People will talk a lot about this season for Chelsea because we have achieved this great success and the reality is that this club will come back and it will take work and maybe a bit of process,» Lampard said. .jpg» />Chelsea have lost their last four games and since the sacking of Graham Potter, his form has improved slightly. Photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images
“The fans appreciated today's performance and there may have been moments this season when they didn't feel that way, so we have to seize on that and get results and performances before the end of the season and then continue next year.
“We have to pull ourselves together. We have been fortunate to achieve success for 20 years. Many Premier League clubs would dream of our success in the Champions League, winning the Premier League year after year. So this year we are not exactly where we would like to be and there are reasons to go.
“A few years ago we missed out on the Champions League one season and won the Premier League the next. We can't be too short with this. There are places that we want to improve as a club and I think maybe the level of play today shows it because we played well and lost.
“So I don't think now is the time to get too far ahead of the next step. The step we have to take is seven games in the Premier League to show that performance because that's the standard. And, of course, the final part, which is clinical and performance, is absolutely important, and we need to solve it.”
Asked how he will motivate his players for the rest of the season, Lampard said: «The motivation has to be to play for Chelsea. There are some players who may be new here and they are getting used to the club and it may not be easy.
«Sometimes we've seen some of the Premier League's greatest players when they first arrive, they need time. Sometimes they team up and they fly and they get turned on and they get on their feet and you see them fly.
“There may be reasons why some of our players are having a slight transition. But in terms of motivation, you play for Chelsea, so the whole team has individual motives and there is a team, and we have to be absolutely competitive in everything we do every day.
Although Lampard was pleased his team's performance, except for the fact that they scored, he was not impressed with referee Daniele Orsato, who did not show Eder Militao a second yellow card for a foul on Trevo Chalob and his referees.
«Militao was my second yellow card,» said Lampard. “I don't want to say what I really think, but at this level it's a yellow card that has given me a lot. When our player is in the last third of the attack behind their central defender and he is knocked down, that means a second yellow card, which means a red one, which means half an hour of what we should have done at the Bernabéu.
» Chelsea «made an incredibly costly mistake»
Telegraph Sport
Former England striker Michael Owen said Chelsea made a «really costly mistake». 600 million pounds.
Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Real Madrid on Tuesday night without scoring in a single game and sit 11th in the standings. In the Premier League table, they are 17 points behind the top four with seven more games to go.
And this despite an impressive recruiting campaign since the end of the last campaign, which was capped by a January swoop of 106, 8 million pounds. for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.
Speaking after a 2-0 home defeat to Madrid that ended their European hopes for this season, BT Sport expert Owen said: «It's unbelievable what a mistake they've made by signing so many players and it's going to hit them where it hurts the most — affordably — because now they have to get rid of the players.
"Some players will not want to leave, so they will have to pay them off. It was a really costly mistake.
«They'll have to sell players they can't get rid of»
Owen and fellow pundits Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand insisted the club needed a cleanup, but admitted it could prove difficult in the short term.
Ferdinand said players on huge salaries who have three, four, five, six or seven years left on their contract, you have a problem with who buys them at a high price and pays the amount they receive. ;again?"
Owen replied, «Well, they don't, so they're going to be in trouble for a few years.» They'll have players they want to get rid of but can't get away with.
"They'll have to get rid of players so they can get rid of some players they don't really want to get rid of.»
Chelsea are in limbo with Frank Lampard, who was sacked as manager in January 2021, back on interim as they look for a permanent replacement for Graham Potter following his departure this month.
Former Chelsea midfielder Cole said: «It's a very tough job for Frank right now because 30 players on the team is absurd.» Many of them think that they should start, let alone do something around it. How are you going to motivate these players?
"They will now turn to their travel agents thinking: 'What am I going to do in the summer?'. It's very hard for Frank to get the melody out of them before the end of the season.
"But they must be professionals. Some of them will play for their future and try to impress the next club; some of them will try to stake out a place for whoever comes through the door. It's hard for the club.
However, Owen thinks that despite the work that needs to be done, there is reason for optimism.
" , with little stability it is almost impossible for them to finish in the bottom half again next season,” he said.
“They will bounce back and be in the top six, I'm sure of that, so all is not lost at this point. After all, they still have some great players and this club has a lot to offer. They just have to deal with the mass of these problems that they have.
"It could be much worse — they could have a bunch of crappy players, and they languished and thought, 'That's right, 500 million pounds to be spent'
How the newspapers reacted
Madrid-based Marca hailed the Spanish champions for knocking out Chelsea and continuing to hold Europe in a stranglehold. “Kings Extend Their Regime,” a front-page headline read, adding: “Real Madrid advance to their 11th Champions League semi-final in 13 years (as) Rodrigo’s brace ends Chelsea (with) Courtois decisive.”
The newspaper also pointed out that Valverde was a real driving force at Stamford Bridge.
Spanish newspaper AS also hailed former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois for his 'crucial' save from defender Marc Cucurella that could have given the hosts the lead before the break. However, the main bragging rights went to the two-goal hero Rodrigo, with the title «Rodrigoles» celebrating his performance.
AS also talked about how Real Madrid made Chelsea pay the price for not taking a lot of good opportunities.
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