Frank Lampard was not in the mood to talk about Didier Drogba’s scathing remark that he no longer ‘recognises’ Chelsea under Todd Boehly’s ownership. Real Madrid eliminated Chelsea from the Champions League on Tuesday night, defeating the Blues 4-0 on aggregate. The Los Blancos defeated Chelsea 2-0 in the second leg of their quarter-final match at Stamford Bridge.
It was the latest setback in a dreadful season for the club, which has seen Frank Lampard return as interim manager until the end of the season. Real Madrid advanced to the semi-finals, while Chelsea and Lampard are left to somehow bring an end to a trophyless season.
Frank Lampard cuts a frustrating figure while offering a reply to Drogba’s comments
Frank Lampard has had a disastrous start to his second spell as the Chelsea head coach, having now lost his first four matches in charge after taking over from Graham Potter, including 2-0 defeats against the defending European and Spanish champions Real Madrid. Chelsea have now lost four games in a row for the first time since 1993.
Lampard, 44, is Chelsea’s third manager of the season, with the club flagging off their first full season under the new owners with Thomas Tuchel in charge. Boehly fired Tuchel in September and replaced him with Potter, but the appointment did not work out, with Lampard returning to the club in early April.
Drogba, who scored over 160 goals for Chelsea and was instrumental in their Champions League triumph in 2012, was covering the Blues’ defeat to Real Madrid for Canal Plus and wasn’t shy in criticising the current state of affairs at Stamford Bridge. Following the game, the club legend said that he did not recognise his club and chastised new owner Todd Boehly for assembling a bloated roster. Drogba told Canal+:
“I don’t recognise my club. It’s no longer the same club. There is a new owner and a new vision. Of course, we try to compare it with what happened during the [Roman] Abramovich era where a lot of players were brought in, but the decisions were very intelligent. The strategy is now different; we bet on young players. But a dressing room of over 30 players is difficult [to manage] for a manager.”
After the game, Frank Lampard was asked about former teammate Drogba’s thoughts. He told reporters flatly: “They’re Didier’s comments, sorry.”
Chelsea signed eight players in the January transfer window, extending Boehly’s high level of spending since heading a consortium to purchase the club from Roman Abramovich last year. After spending over £200 million on new players in the summer, the Blues spent over £300 million on Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Benoit Badiashile in winter.
However, Boehly’s first season will end without a trophy as the team was eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday. Chelsea were eliminated in the third round of both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, and they currently rank 11th in the Premier League, with their chances of qualifying for the Champions League almost over.