Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions League with a humbling 4-0 aggregate loss to holders Real Madrid as a Rodrygo’s double condemned Chelsea to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were always battling against the odds to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg in the Bernabeu and their cause was not helped by a familiar failing as a battling performance was undermined by missing a succession of clear chances.
N’Golo Kante missed a glorious first-half opening while Marc Cucurella was blocked by former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois when he looked certain to reduce Real’s advantage.
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The Spanish champions had moments of their own and there are few sides more adept at making opponents pay for wasted opportunities and so it proved.
A lightning counter attack led by Vinicius Junior ended with Rodrygo putting the tie to bed with a close-range finish just before the hour
The Brazilian forward then walked in the second after brilliant, unselfish work by Federico Valverde with 10 minutes left.
Carlo Ancelotti’s quest for an historic fifth win as a coach in this tournament will continue with a semi-final against either Bayern Munich or Manchester City while Chelsea’s interim manager Frank Lampard, who now has four defeats from four games, must somehow lift the grim mood of despair around the club.
Boehly and his co-owner Behdad Eghbali has water-cannoned £600million in transfer fees, yet left four different managers without an authentic centre-forward.
And having headed into the Chelsea dressing-room and accusing players of being ‘embarrassing’ after the weekend defeat by Brighton, the shame should lie with Chelsea’s American moneymen.
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Frank Lampard’s four matches as interim manager have produced the club’s first four-game losing streak in 30 years.
And Chelsea’s season is now over six weeks prematurely. They are in the bottom half of the Premier League table, they are out of every Cup and have eight dead rubbers ahead of them.
Whoever inherits Lampard’s mantle will not be competing in Europe next season – which will cause more financial headaches for owners who have spent like drunken sailors in a knocking shop.
Chelsea actually had a decent go at Real for 45 minutes.
But the 14-time European champions prevailed through a smart second-half double from Rodrygo to double their first-leg lead and set up, in all probability, a second straight Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.
In keeping with the utter chaos surrounding this club, Lampard’s team selection had something of the bingo caller about it: “On his own, lucky seven, N’Golo Kante”.
Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid: Player of the Match
Rodrygo (Real Madrid). The 22-year-old Brazilian is less of a headline-maker when compared to the other two members of Real’s front three, but he was the most threatening on the night and after hitting the post in the first period, he was in the right place at the right time to gobble up a brace and send Chelsea packing.
Player ratings
CHELSEA: Kepa 6, James 7, Cucurella 6, Fofana 7, Thiago Silva 7, Chalobah 7, Kante 6, Kovacic 6, Gallagher 7, Fernandez 7, Havertz 7. Subs: Sterling 6, Mudryk 6, Felix 6, Mount 5.
REAL MADRID: Courtois 8, Carvajal 7, Camavinga 7, Militao 7, Alaba 7, Valverde 8, Kroos 7, Modric 7, Rodrygo 8, Benzema 6, Vinicius Jr 7. Subs: Rudiger 7, Tchouameni 6, Ceballos 6, Nacho n/a, Asensio n/a.
Chelsea’s next match postponed
Chelsea’s scheduled Premier League meeting with Manchester United this weekend is postponed due to their opponent’s participation in the FA Cup, meaning their next game is not until Wednesday next week, when they host Brentford.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, are likely to face Manchester City in the Champions League semi-final, with Pep Guardiola’s side heading to the Allianz Arena for their quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich on Wednesday with a 3-0 advantage from the first leg.
