Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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HomeSportsTodd Boehly rips into Chelsea flops

Todd Boehly rips into Chelsea flops

Todd Boehly reportedly ripped into Chelsea flops in the dressing room after the 2-1 loss to Brighton.

Boehly had an explosive hour-long rant after Lampard had addressed the players after the Brighton defeat.

He allegedly labelled the current struggles as “embarrassing”, falling well short of the standards and expectations of the board and insisted they had spent big in the transfer market in order to win trophies.

READ ALSO: Lampard returns to Chelsea as caretaker manager

According to The Guardian, one senior player – signed for a big fee in the last 12 months – is said to have been singled out by Todd Boehly, with that star allegedly feeling disillusioned and disgruntled.

One source told The Guardian the “whole thing was weird” but Lampard and No1 Kepa Arrizabalaga tried to play it down.

Interim boss Lampard said: “I’m comfortable with Todd Boehly entering the dressing room.

“There was criticism of our old owner not coming to games, that wasn’t always true.

“But when an owner is very invested it’s their prerogative to have the input they want, it shows passion.”

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Kepa added: “Todd comes to the changing room in every game. He had different chats with us after different games.

“I am not going to say what he said. It is normal when he came.”

It is understood the co-owner did end his speech a positive note, though, trying to motivate the players ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Chelsea trail 2-0 – despite the owner boldly predicting a 3-0 win in the Bernabeu – going into today’s return fixture at Stamford Bridge.

Todd Boehly told the underperforming players that dumping out the holders is their chance to keep the season alive, stop the rot and give the fans something to cheer at long last.

Todd Boehly’s Chelsea are broken

Saying that Chelsea are currently “broken” is “a bit much”, says their interim manager Frank Lampard.

The Blues sacked manager Graham Potter earlier this month with the team 11th in the Premier League, despite spending more than £550m on players this season.

The Champions League is the last competition they can win this season but they trail Real Madrid 2-0 before Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg.

“We are not where we want to be. That’s clear,” said Lampard.

“But I think the word broken is a bit much.

“The league position is a reality, and we are 2-0 down in this game. We have to work against that.”

Real have won the Champions League a record 14 times, beating Liverpool in last season’s final, and are second in Spain’s La Liga.

Lampard was asked if overturning Real’s advantage from the first leg and reaching the semi-finals would rival 2012 when, as a player, he helped Chelsea win the Champions League for the first time.

“I don’t think anything that happens today will be better than winning the Champions League,” said the 44-year-old, who is Chelsea’s record goalscorer.

“We had many difficult moments on that run – against Barcelona and Napoli. It was a huge run where there were a lot of big achievements.

“But considering the score now, the team we are up against and the moment we are in, we have to fight really hard to make it happen so, of course, it would be special.”

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti recalled how his side were 3-1 up against Chelsea after the first leg of last season’s quarter-finals, only to need a late goal in the second leg to take the tie into extra time before winning 5-4 on aggregate.

“What happened, happened. We want to struggle less today,” said the Italian, who won a league and FA Cup Double as Chelsea manager in 2010.

“Chelsea has a difficult moment. I’m thinking the game today can be a great opportunity for them to move from this situation. We’re aware of this.

“Ninety minutes remain and in this type of competition anything can happen. We’ll be ready to play at our best.”

Alfred Saiki
Alfred Saiki
A passionate sports journalist and administrator. I want to see the world.
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