Frank Lampard has 'no problem' with Todd Boehly visiting dressing room
Frank Lampard defended the right of Chelsea owner Todd Boehly to communicate his frustration to the players in the dressing room, after reports he told the squad their season had been "embarrassing" following Saturday's defeat to Brighton. Boehly was photographed responding to a section of supporters at Stamford Bridge who criticised his running of the club before addressing the team immediately after Lampard's post-match talk. There has been little observable progress at Chelsea since transfer activity in January that took the owner's spending to over £500million (€566m) during his almost 12 months in control, with results and performances having taken a further dip since Graham Potter was removed as head coach on 2 April. Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid represents the club's last opportunity to keep their season alive, with hopes of qualifying for next season's competition via their league placing long since extinguished. They trail 2-0 from last Wednesday's meeting in the Bernabeu. After a winless run of five games in the league they look increasingly unlikely to finish high enough to qualify for the Europa League or Conference League, meaning they face the prospect of a first season not playing in Europe since 2016-17. That could prove hugely damaging financially following the last year's transfer spend, with the club almost certain to have to offload players to have any hope of satisfying Financial Fair Play rules. Despite the club's problems, caretaker boss Lampard said he was in favour of owners sharing their feelings with players.
