Do Chelsea have the leaders or quality to offer any fightback against Real Madrid?

The dust was still settling on Chelsea’s demoralising defeat by Brighton on Saturday when three of the club’s owners – Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Hansjörg Wyss – walked into the home dressing room to hold a debrief with their squad.

The mood could have been better. It is not unusual for owners to go into a dressing room but this particular intervention made a lasting impact. The language was strong and Boehly did not hold back. “Embarrassing,” was how he described Chelsea’s plight and, although the intention was to rally the troops before Frank Lampard’s side host Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, there was some surprise at the messaging given that the episode involved one senior player being singled out for some fierce criticism.

That player, signed by the current owners, may now be wondering whether he made a mistake in joining Chelsea. He is believed to be disillusioned and has been telling people he had never experienced anything like this in football.

Of course the riposte may be that the best way for the players to respond would be to help Chelsea to stage a comeback for the ages and overcome a 2-0 deficit from the first leg in Madrid last week. Still, though, the motivational tactics have raised eyebrows. Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Chelsea goalkeeper, tried to play things down, insisting that Boehly is in the dressing room after every game, but one insider said the vibe was weird.

Perhaps the players are wondering whether the truly embarrassing thing is how their bosses have behaved since buying the club from Roman Abramovich last May. Perhaps they are wondering how much of the embarrassment is down to owners who have employed four managers in one season,