Can Chelsea mount a comeback against Real Madrid with their quality and leadership? | Chelsea | The Guardian

Todd Boehly is hoping that his criticism of Chelsea's players will inspire a response as the Blues aim to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Real Madrid. After their demoralising defeat to Brighton on Saturday, Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Hansjörg Wyss entered the home dressing room to hold a debrief with their squad. While it is not unusual for owners to visit the dressing room, this particular intervention made a lasting impact. Boehly did not hold back, describing Chelsea's performance as "embarrassing". While the intention was to rally the troops before the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, there was some surprise at the messaging, given that the episode involved one senior player being singled out for some fierce criticism.

The player in question, signed by the current owners, may now be wondering whether he made a mistake in joining Chelsea. He is believed to be disillusioned and has been telling people he had never experienced anything like this in football. Of course, the players may respond by helping Chelsea stage a comeback for the ages, but the motivational tactics have raised eyebrows.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Chelsea goalkeeper, tried to play things down, insisting that Boehly is in the dressing room after every game, but one insider said the vibe was weird. Perhaps the players are wondering whether the truly embarrassing thing is how their bosses have behaved since buying the club from Roman Abramovich last May. They are wondering why Chelsea have managed to spend so much and still have no reliable goalscorer.

This is an exceptionally concerning situation. It is hard for the hierarchy to talk about long-term plans when they have employed four managers in one season, breeding dysfunction, and created a bloated squad by spending close to £600m in two transfer windows. The vision for this season did not involve bringing in Frank Lampard as interim head coach, and the photos from the Brighton game, showing fans leaning down to remonstrate with Boehly, cannot be anything other than a worry for the board.

The sense is that this could get toxic, particularly if Chelsea toil when they host Brentford next Wednesday. However, the ground will surely be rocking when Madrid comes to visit. Lampard is sure of a positive atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, but the rest is down to the team. They need to summon the spirit of their 2012 Champions League victory and remember the defiance that made them kings of Europe.

Miracles can happen, but the question is whether this Chelsea side has what it takes to fight back against Madrid. Do they have the leaders, character, togetherness, and quality needed? There are problems in defence, and a total lack of ruthlessness in attack. N'Golo Kanté's return is a boost, but he is short of sharpness. Luka Modric, Fede Valverde and Toni Kroos are unlikely to be quaking in their boots.

Madrid look too canny to be caught out. Chelsea will remember fighting back against Napoli in 2012, Fenerbahce in 2008 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2014. They will remember coming back to beat Borussia Dortmund last month. And they did give Madrid a few headaches last week. Yet the Spanish side will back themselves to handle Chelsea’s early fury. Carlo Ancelotti will surely have the tactical edge over Lampard. The Italian will surely have plans to pick off Chelsea, release Vinícius Júnior on the break and trust in Karim Benzema to do the rest.

There is a problem with Lampard’s line about Chelsea having to kick the door in. On current evidence it is more likely to swing back and hit them in the face.