Frank Lampard has challenged his Chelsea players to relish the underdog tag in their Champions League quarterfinal tie with Real Madrid and warned: “If you can’t handle the pressure, you are not a big player.”
The Blues travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for Wednesday’s first leg with Lampard in caretaker charge after a dismal campaign in which they sit 11th in the Premier League, having fired head coach Graham Potter nine days ago — less than seven months into the job.
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Madrid are currently second in La Liga, but thrashed Liverpool at the round-of-16 stage and produced another statement victory in in last week’s Copa Del Rey semifinal, beating Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou to advance 4-1 on aggregate.
Lampard’s first game in his second spell as Blues boss ended with a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday and he issued a rallying cry to his beleaguered squad as they attempt to avoid a repeat of last season’s Champions League exit at the same stage against the same opponent.
“When you get to this stage, there’s always going to be pressure,” Lampard said. “Are Real Madrid favourites? Yes and I understand why. That’s the difficulties of our season. I don’t think that is a problem.
“There is no better carrot in football than trying to prove people wrong, being the underdog and have a good result. It’s one of the best things I’ve been part of. I think that is a nice challenge for us.
“I’m not worried about that. In terms of the pressure I am not worried about that. Football at this level is pressure. If you can’t handle the pressure you are not a big club, you are not a big player or a participant in it.”
