13 April 2023 , 07:31
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Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea has not gone to plan so far, with the Blues continuing in the downward spiral which saw Graham Potter sacked.
Lampard started his second stint as Blues manager with a 1-0 defeat against Wolves on Saturday and followed it up with a humbling 2-0 loss at Real Madrid. Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League, a whopping 17 points adrift of the top four, and staring at an uphill battle against Real in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final next week.
It is not a pretty picture and their troubles are summed up by their struggles in front of goal. Chelsea created chances against Real, but Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount could not find a way past former Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The blank in front of goal meant Chelsea have now failed to score in their past four matches in all competitions. Their last goal came in the 76th minute of the 2-2 draw with Everton on March 18 when Kai Havertz converted from the penalty spot.
Since then Chelsea have gone over six hours without finding the back of the net against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Wolves and Real Madrid. The extent of the issue is shown by the fact that it is the first time since a period in November and December 1993, when Glenn Hoddle was in charge, that they have gone four games without scoring.
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Rio Ferdinand summed up the issue after the Real match. “The problem is finding goals. You see today, chance comes their way and they don’t manage to finish it,” he said on BT Sport. “The problem is Frank as well is trying to work out the right players to play. Mudryk there, big signing, is he the right one?”
Joao Felix could not score for Chelsea (Manuel Reino Berengui/Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! What is the solution to Chelsea's problem in front of goal? Comment below.
Former Chelsea winger Joe Cole added: “You look at some of the players and names they’ve got, in the forward line, all of them top players – Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix, Kai Havertz.
“We’ve seen them have big moments and won multiple trophies between them but you’ve got to get them some kind of belief, only a result can do that.”
Felix had a chance early on after getting in behind the Real defence but shot straight at Courtois. The best chance saw Sterling get on the end of Reece James ’ low cross to force Courtois into a smart low save before another ex-Blue, Antonio Rudiger, produced a good block to deny Mount.
Lampard feels the problem up front is not about talent, but is a mental one. “As good of a team as they are, I felt there was a lot there for us,” he said of Real. “In terms of us when we had the ball, it might have been a lack of belief, but the players have got to understand how good they are and what they can do and maybe we're a bit short of that.
“It's not easy to come here like that because there were opportunities in possession to use the size of the pitch, to be a bit more aggressive, but next week is going to be a fight.”