Frank Lampard suggests Chelsea aren't fit enough ahead of Real Madrid game

Frank Lampard has lamented Chelsea players’ fitness levels ahead of their mammoth clash with Real Madrid in midweek.

Lampard took over as the club’s caretaker manager recently after Graham Potter was sacked, but has so far failed to improve Chelsea’s form. Under Lampard, the Blues have now lost three games on the bounce after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

Things don’t get any easier for Lampard and Chelsea on Tuesday evening when they face their second leg clash against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Chelsea were expectedly well beaten by Los Blancos in the first leg last week – albeit to Todd Boehly’s surprise.

Speaking to the press ahead of the meeting with Real Madrid, Lampard has admitted that the squads’ fitness levels are not at the required standard, citing it as a possible reason for the slump in form.

“At the minute, it has been mostly conversations and meetings than training pitch stuff. Training pitch stuff was all pretty walkthrough and low level because of the [tiredness] in the legs,” he said.

“It is more about speaking to the players individually. When we do get the chance to work, I think the team needs some physical work. I think that’s important for us because at this level you have to be right on the limit and we are not on the limit right now.

“I think that can be a capacity thing with the players for whatever reason. It doesn’t matter how we got there but it needs to be addressed now.”