‘Anything is possible’ – Lampard looks ahead to Real Madrid clash as Chelsea need to overturn first-leg defeat

Chelsea interim boss Frank Lampard says “anything is possible” with his side needing to overturn a 2-0 deficit tomorrow against Real Madrid in their second-leg quarter-final clash at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues host Los Blancos looking to overturn their 2-0 first-leg defeat from last Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio gave Carlo Ancelotti’s side the first-leg lead.

Lampard has lost his first three games since returning to Stamford Bridge as Graham Potter’s interim replacement until the end of the season.

“Anything is possible in football,” said Lampard.

“There is no doubt that we’re a competitive team and we deserve to be at this stage of the competition.

“We also understand that the opponent is of a really high level.

“It’s worth focusing on the here and now, with a little understanding that if we get things right, work hard and do the right things in the game, then anything is possible.

“They [Real Madrid] have a great coach, who I understand very well from working with him. He needs to take full credit in this moment.

“What we saw last year in their run to the final was the amazing resilience that he led. What is very visible from the outside is that there is a core of players who have been there for a very long time and playing at the highest level year after year.

“We have the quick reference last week of Madrid and how they set up. When you talk about last week, we had opportunities to score and make the scoreline better. But, at the same time, there were things that we wanted to do from the outset that we didn’t do well enough throughout the game. 

“We have to improve on that for tomorrow to have a better chance of turning this game around.

“Hopefully you see the fruits of that in the game tomorrow. I know the players have the capacity to give this game a good game, but we must get our game right and be better than last week.”