Joe Cole believes Chelsea are struggling thanks to a loss in confidence following Real Madrid loss
Joe Cole has claimed that Chelsea FC’s lack of confidence saw them struggle to put away opportunities in the UEFA Champions League quarter final clash vs Real Madrid yesterday night. The visitors won 2-0 on the night, securing the tie 4-0 on aggregate.
The Blues’ season was officially finished when they were ousted from the Champions League, and the chances of competing in the UEFA Champions League are virtually non-existent. We now sit in the 11th position in the Premier League table, 17 points adrift of a top four spot with seven games left to play.
The first question last night was brought up when Frank Lampard decided to start Conor Gallagher and Kai Havertz as attackers alongside five midfielders and three defenders. However, Chelsea were outstanding for periods of the game, pushing relentlessly and giving Madrid a heart scare or two.
N’Golo Kante and Conor Gallagher missed good opportunities to make it 2-0 before the break, while Marc Cucurella came close to breaking the deadlock, only to be denied by the excellent Thibaut Courtois.
The fact that Real Madrid scored through Rodrygo in the 58th minute to make it 3-0 overall and end the game in the second half came as no surprise. We can only blame ourselves for missed opportunities and not making a game of the tie when we could.
Cole, though, remarked that their problems throughout the season contributed to the defeat, as told to BT Sport (h/t Daily Mail):
”They played well, particularly in the first half, but you can’t discount how low the confidence is in the lads; chances are falling and the players should be doing better.”
Cole is correct in saying that we were superior from the get-go, pushing and winning the ball back before launching counter attacks. Low confidence was a bane as the lack of killer instinct in the box cost us dear.
And Lampard’s selection of players was poor as well. He could have started Mykhaylo Mudryk given that he impressed against Brighton Hove & Albion and would have helped to stretch their defence, as well as Mason Mount, who is a clear goal threat.
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We must now just move on and wait for the upcoming season, because the new manager and owners have a lot of problems to sort out. Low confidence is just the tip of the iceberg.