Lampard defends two players after defeat to Real Madrid

Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard has taken side with Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix after the duo were criticised following the club’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid.

Chelsea’s defeat to Madrid have made their progress to the Champions League semi-finals a hard task.

Lampard opted for a 3-5-2 formation that saw Sterling and Felix paired in the attack but both players were isolated and unable to score for Chelsea against Los Blancos.

However, Lampard believed the match was tough for both Felix and Sterling, insisting that he is not ready to criticize the forwards.

“I think the game for Raheem and Joao Felix was a tough match,” Lampard said at his post-match press conference.

“In the system that we played, defensively they had to put in a lot of work and their main threat can sometimes be counter-attack or protecting the ball.

“And it was a difficult night for us I think at the top-end of the pitch.

‘But Joao is a big talent, as is Raheem.

“So I am not here to criticise or comment too much. We will go away and analyse that side of it.”