“You have to earn it” – Lampard sends Chelsea squad warning after Champions League exit

Frank Lampard has sent a warning to the Chelsea squad following their Champions League exit to Real Madrid.

The Blues were beaten 2-0 by Los Blancos on Tuesday night as they crashed out of the Champions League quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea put up a good fight against Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the second leg as they looked to overturn a two goal deficit against the reigning champions.

Both teams had chances in the first half, Vinicius Jr snatched at an opportunity after a delivery from Luka Modric, but it Marc Cucurella who had the best chance of the half – the Spaniard was superbly denied by Thibaut Courtois.

After going into the break level at 0-0, the hosts needed a big start to the second half. Despite starting positively, it was the Rodrygo who found the opening goal after an excellent counter-attack from the visitors.

This effectively killed the tie and in the 80th minute, there was more pain for Lampard’s team, Rodrygo scored his second of the game and booked Real Madrid’s place in the semi-finals.

READ MORE: ‘Almost every player’ could be up for sale this summer as Chelsea eye squad overhaul

It was always going to be a challenging task for Chelsea to pull off a special result against one of Europe’s elite but they will be disappointed to have lost by four goals on aggregate without scoring.

After picking up four defeats on the bounce, Lampard spoke about his players’ efforts, admitting: “I can’t complain about the players’ performance, it was good. To see that shows we have progression and more progression to come. But at this level the most important thing is the result and without scoring we couldn’t get the result.

READ MORE: Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid (0-4 agg): Rodrygo brace knocks wasteful Blues out of Champions League

“They have to be motivated, you’re playing for Chelsea. Players have to respect the club, and they do – I want to see that in their performances until the end of the season.”

With just seven games remaining in the Premier League season and little to play for, Lampard still wants to see hard work from the team, adding: “We are playing for Chelsea.

“The players that train hard, show the performances like today, all those things, are the ones that will deserve to play. I have to judge that in terms of competition.

“To play for Chelsea is not a gift, you have to earn it. That should always be the rule.”