- Chelsea knocked out of Champions League
- Drogba launches brutal rant about new owners
- Lampard gives a blunt response
WHAT HAPPENED? The Blues boss has distanced himself from making a comment about Didier Drogba’s brutal swipe after the Chelsea legend suggested he no longer recognises the club as they were eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
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WHAT THEY SAID: Drogba, who was covering the game for French TV channel Canal+, pulled no punches in his criticism towards his former club: “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.
“Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Herman Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was done to win titles. They are players with a certain experience. 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.”
The Chelsea boss was in no mood to talk about his former teammate's comments as he offered a sharp response during his post-match press conference.
"They're Didier's comments, sorry," he told reporters as he refused to be drawn into the 45-year-old's scathing criticism of the club.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Blues have endured a disastrous campaign and no longer have any chance of ending the season with a trophy after their 4-0 aggregate thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Chelsea fans had high expectations for this season, especially after the club spent heavily over the summer in co-owner Todd Boehly’s first window in charge.
However, the campaign has gone from bad to worse ever since Thomas Tuchel was fired in September, with Graham Potter looking to be the wrong man for the job until he, too, was relieved of his duties earlier in April.
Lampard was brought in as a caretaker to stabilise the ship until the end of the season, but it has been a catastrophe so far. The Englishman has lost all four of his games in charge and has failed to instil confidence whatsoever into a dejected dressing room so far.
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? Lampard is expected to remain Chelsea's boss for the last seven games of the season as the Blues' search for a permanent manager intensifies.
However, he faces the difficult task of motivating a bloated squad with very little to play for since they are far out of contention for European places.
The Blues are back in action next week when Brentford make the trip to Stamford Bridge in yet another tricky fixture for Lampard's men.