"That tells you where they’re at" - Rio Ferdinand and Michael Owen identify main Chelsea problem after UCL defeat against Real Madrid
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand and iconic Premier League striker Michael Owen have highlighted Chelsea's key issue after their UEFA Champions League elimination by Real Madrid.
The Blues suffered a 2-0 defeat to Los Blancos in the second leg at Stamford Bridge after losing by an identical margin in the first at the Bernabeu. The West London outfit were unable to score a single goal over two Champions League games against the Spanish giants.
Ferdinand and Owen believe the lack of a clinical striker is affecting the club's performances this season. The Blues have spent more than £600 million on 14 different signings this campaign, but are yet to find a definite starter in the No.9 position who can rack up goals.
The two Englishmen addressed this issue on BT Sport after Chelsea's UCL knockout. Ferdinand said (as quoted by football.london):
"They [Chelsea] don’t score enough goals, that’s obvious. That team that started the game had 17 goals between them for the season - Benzema outscored that completely on his own, so that tells you where they’re at. Today in the first half they created chances, they had arguably the best chances in the first half, but they just didn’t have anyone to put the ball in the net and that’s been an issue."
He added:
"Recruitment in the summer is going to be massive for this football club - as much as they want to get players, to get people out. They’ve got to get players out to make sure there’s room to bring players in."
Owen agreed with Ferdinand's comments and said:
"Overall I didn’t think Chelsea were bad at all tonight and I think Frank Lampard can take positives. But again, going back to what we said at the start of the show, they spent all that money and don’t get any strikers in, look toothless, goalscoring is a problem. But, it’s not just the centre forwards, throughout the team they don’t really score enough goals amongst themselves."
Chelsea will next face Brentford in the Premier League on 27 April.
"It’s a very sad day" - Chelsea superstar reflects on 'last match in the Champions League'
Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva has admitted that the game against Real Madrid may have been his final game in the Champions League.
The 38-year-old defender is in the twilight of his career and his contract with the Blues is set to expire next year.
The West London outfit are 11th in the Premier League table at the moment, and with only seven games left, their chances of securing a spot in next season's Champions League seem extremely bleak.
An emotional Silva said after the match (as quoted by Metro):
"It has been a very difficult season and a frustrating one for me personally. It might have been my last match in the Champions League. I have only one year left on my contract and my career is reaching the end. It’s a very sad day. But I think we must continue working to try to win as many matches until the end of the season."