Chelsea, Lampard continue downward spiral: 3 takeaways

Doug McIntyre

Soccer Journalist

Reeling Chelsea’s misery continued in Frank Lampard’s second game since returning to the club as its interim manager, his 10-man Blues losing 2-0 to Real Madrid on Wednesday in Spain’s capital in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal between the competition’s two most recent titlists.

On the other half of the bracket, AC Milan topped Napoli 1-0 in an all-Italian matchup. The second legs of both home-and-home, total goals series are scheduled for April 18.

Here are three quick thoughts on Wednesday’s games.

Missed chances, Chilwell red dooms Blues

Given how poor Chelsea has been in England’s Premier League this season, the visitors start really wasn’t all that bad. While the Blues beat Real Madrid on the way to winning the Champions League just two years back, it feels like a century ago based on current form. As such, the trophy holders came into the match as the overwhelming favorite.

It was surprising then that Chelsea created the game’s first legitimate scoring chance. João Félix flashed a pass across the face of goal that nearly found Raheem Sterling at the back post, a golden, ultimately squandered opportunity that Karim Benzema predictably and ruthlessly punished by putting the hosts ahead a little more than 20 minutes in:

Playing away against the record 14-time champs, the floodgates easily could’ve opened after that. The Blues instead hung tough. Sterling almost canceled out Benzema’s opener immediately; only an all-world stop from point-blank range by Thibaut Courtois prevented the equalizer.

“It was a great chance,” Courtois said afterward. “I’m really happy about that save.”

The look of disbelief on Sterling’s face said it even better:

Real took its slim lead into halftime. But any realistic chance Chelsea had of going back to London on even terms evaporated before the hour mark when defender Ben Chilwell was shown a straight red card for pulling down Rodrygo before he could break into the box alone on Blues keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

At that point, it was only a matter of time before Real doubled its aggregate lead, and soon did via substitute Marco Asensio:

AC Milan takes 1-0 lead back to Naples

The possibility of an all-Milan semifinal edged closer to reality on Wednesday, as AC Milan — which a day earlier watched city rival Inter all but book a place in the last four with a decisive victory at Benfica — topped Napoli 1-0 at home on Ismaël Bennacer’s first-half strike:

Things got worse from there from Napoli. In the second half, Serie A’s runaway leader also was reduced to 10 players when André-Frank Zambo Anguissa picked up his second yellow card. The defensive midfielder is now suspended for the rematch next Tuesday at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Still, Napoli played pretty well overall, outshooting the hosts 16-12 (and 6-2 on target) and controlling the majority of possession despite playing the final 23 minutes, including stoppage time, down a man. Add in the fact that injured star striker Victor Osimhen wasn’t available, and it’s not the worst result for Luciano Spalletti’s side.

Chelsea, Napoli still have plenty to play for

Napoli, in particular, absolutely can still reach the semis. Getting Osimhen back on the field obviously would help. Yet even if the Nigerian marksman’s groin injury isn’t sufficiently healed by then, the Little Donkeys have to like their chances of advancing.

Milan looked nothing like the squad that spanked the hosts 4-0 in Naples in league play on April 2. The seven-time European champs were anything but dominant in this one. And without getting the all-important second goal, they left Italy’s best team a lifeline. Napoli also knows it can beat the Rossoneri, having done so at the San Siro earlier in the season.

Chelsea faces far longer odds. Despite a few encouraging moments on Wednesday — including a near stoppage time strike by Mason Mount that was blocked by ex-Blues center back Antonio Rüdiger — the club has now failed to score in four consecutive matches.

Those promising moments Wednesday still provide a glimmer of hope. Beating Brighton in Prem action this weekend could quickly restore some of Chelsea’s shattered confidence. The Blues faithful will be fully behind their team when Real comes to town next week if that happens. It would still take a monumental effort to overcome the 2-0 deficit against a team of such outstanding quality. It’s not impossible, though. And it’s not as if Chelsea hasn’t upset Real Madrid in the Champions League before.

“The door is open,” Lampard said. “Special things can happen at Stamford Bridge. They are a very good team, but we have to believe.”

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.