Lampard rues blunt Blues as clinical Madrid prevail

Frank Lampard bemoaned Chelsea's lack of cutting edge after Real Madrid dumped his side out of the Champions League.

Rodrygo's second-half brace sealed a 4-0 aggregate win for the European champions but only after the Blues had spurned several first-half opportunities.

N'Golo Kante and Marc Cucurella both should have halved the aggregate deficit and Lampard, 44, knows those moments cost the hosts dearly.

He said: "We had big energy, big organisation in the team and caused Madrid a lot of problems. 

"The only thing missing from our game was a goal. 

"Our game was exactly how I wanted it and one goal or two goals in that first 60 minutes changes the face of the tie. 

"We didn’t do that and they [Madrid] are so clinical, you saw the result. 

"I picked a team that was the most in-form, the fittest team and the most ready for what they were going to ask of us. And they showed it.

"I thought for 60 minutes of the game, you probably saw why I picked the line-up."

No let up

Exiting the Champions League curtails any last hopes of the Blues lifting silverware this term.

Languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, Chelsea are 11 points adrift of sixth-placed Aston Villa — meaning even Europa League qualification appears out of reach.

Yet Lampard, who is only in charge until the summer, insists his players should have no issues motivating themselves for their final seven fixtures.

He added: "You're playing for Chelsea. Every game you play, you have to give everything. 

"I won't let anyone off the hook and that standard cannot drop. That's the one message for us to relay in-house once the dust settles.

"I now get a period to work with the players. Some people would say, 'What does it mean when you're 11th or 12th?'. For me, it means a lot.  

"We can't be a team who turns up today and not other times, we need to keep that level of performance."

The Blues return to action next Wednesday when Brentford visit Stamford Bridge.