Rio Ferdinand: Chelsea will be absolutely SICK after Real Madrid loss

Rio Ferdinand has underlined how traumatised Chelsea will feel after blowing a lead as they crashed out of the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid on Tuesday. 

Having lost the first leg at Stamford Bridge 3-1 last week, the Blues went 3-0 up at the Bernabeu and were 4-3 up on aggregate and in pole position to progress to the last four of the tournament.

But individual errors allowed Real to score twice, and progress 5-4 on aggregate after extra time despite losing 3-2 on the night - leading BT Sport pundit Ferdinand to emphasise how upset the visiting players will be. 

He said: 'The Chelsea team will be absolutely sick, devastated with that.'

Fellow pundit Joe Cole, a former Blues attacking midfielder, concurred, adding: 'Chelsea will be kicking themselves. Chelsea should have won. I know this feeling all too well. 

'When you've been the better side and you get knocked out, it's horrible. The FA Cup semi-final on Sunday (against Crystal Palace) takes on even more importance now.

'Chelsea were on top of them, pressed so well. But Rio's right, it's the details. It was a tactical mistake by Chelsea, Vinicius Junior set up the winner. Crazy.'

But ex-Real Madrid star Steve McManaman pinpointed a shoddy first-half showing, which saw them go in at the interval 2-0 down at home, in the first leg as a key reason for Chelsea's exit.

He concluded: 'They saved their worst 45 minutes under Tuchel for the first half of the first leg.'