Before the first leg a week ago, Todd Boehly had his mouth quite full – not only at what he called a "very good" lunch, but also at the prediction for the upcoming first leg in the quarter-finals of the football Champions League. The new owner of Chelsea FC predicted a 3-0 victory for his team. Things turned out differently. Real Madrid won 2-0 at home at the Bernabéu Stadium and followed it up with another victory of that magnitude at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The Spaniards advanced safely to the semi-finals.

Tobias Rabe

Editor in charge of Sport Online.

  • Follow I follow

At the latest when Rodrygo stood free in front of the Chelsea goal in the 80th minute to make it 0-1 (58th), stopped the ball and shot it over the line from close range, the still hopeful supporters of the Londoners were fed up and left the stadium in the Fulham district for the most part before the final whistle, so that at least they don't have to stand in traffic jams after the end of their club. The difference between a favourite for the title in the premier class and a team that is currently difficult to describe as such was too clear.

Boehly has put more than 600 million euros into the squad in transfer payments this season. There is little to be seen of this - and that is not only due to the fact that interim coach Frank Lampard initially preferred to rely on homegrown Conor Gallagher in midfield in the decisive game against Real Madrid than on 70-million-euro signing Mykhaylo Mudryk. Again and again, the unquestionably existing class of individual players flashed. But there is no idea, let alone a plan, on how this compilation of expensive individual pieces will achieve common, lasting success.

Rodrygo's second goal is a no-brainer

More excitement on Tuesday evening was quite possible. There were chances to take the lead for Chelsea. But some of them were miserably forgiven. N'Golo Kanté missed a volley in the penalty area (11th), Marc Cucurella failed to get past the tumbling goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (45th+1). Real Madrid showed how it can be done better, taking advantage of the few opportunities that existed twice. After a mistake by Trevoh Chalobah on the touchline, Rodrygo stormed alone towards goal and finished when he got back to the ball at the end of the mess. The 0-2 defeat was child's play.

How the Brazilian was able to receive the ball in front of the goal in the five-metre area reflected Chelsea's inferiority in this overall duel. In addition to the gaps in the defence, there was an astonishing weakness in finishing, which was already evident in the first leg. The club played six games in April, scoring only one goal. The end of the Champions League comes a disgraceful eleventh place in the table of the Premier League. With seven matchdays to go, the places that entitle them to participate in the European Cup next season are realistically no longer achievable.

In last weekend's 1-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, in which the small club from the south coast showed the makers at Stamford Bridge that it doesn't take huge sums of money to be able to play football successfully, Boehly came into the dressing room. What exactly he did and said there, the statements differ. Lampard downplayed the American's visit as completely normal. Former national player Gary Lineker, known for his trenchant observations, wrote ironically: "I bet that helped." Probably not, as Tuesday night's game showed.

Club legend Lampard, who was not very successful as a coach at Derby County, Chelsea and Everton and is supposed to bridge the time until the end of the season, talked up the inferiority to Real. "We played well for 60 minutes. Everything we wanted was there, only the goal was missing. That would have brought the fans and us into the game. It was a good performance for most of the game," he said on Prime Video. "The club is in transition. That was clear to me when I started. But I'm ready to work at this stage." After that, another coach will take over.

It will be extremely exciting to see how Chelsea fans react to the developments. Up to the 0:1 they cheered loudly for their team in the hope that maybe a goal might succeed after all. When it became clear that the duel was lost, many left. The frustration of some supporters had already been discharged against Brighton. It was first and foremost directed against Boehly, who had attracted attention at the beginning of his time in London with ideas such as an All-Star game. Even the billionaire with the big mouth should have realized by now that money alone does not score goals in football.