Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has admitted that the large turnaround in both players and coaching staff is having a negative impact on the team this season.
Current boss Frank Lampard is the fourth, temporary or otherwise, to take charge of the team in a season in which Chelsea have spent a record on transfers to sign a huge number of new players.
The turmoil behind the scenes has taken its toll on the pitch as Chelsea have fallen to 11th in the Premier League, and their slim hopes of Champions League glory are already in tatters after a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the quarter-final first leg that could have easily been significantly worse.
After that game in Spain, in which the Blues ended with ten men after Ben Chilwell was sent off, Kepa confessed it has not been easy to deal with the movement behind the scenes.
“There have been three changes of coach, there have been changes in the squad during the season and it is costing us,” Kepa acknowledged.
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After the game, Lampard was determined to see the positives, arguing Chelsea had their opportunities and still have time to turn things around, but Kepa did not shy away from the size of the challenge ahead for the Blues.
“We leave with the feeling that they have been superior, it has cost us a lot to play in the opposite half and to create chances,” he said. “It could even have been worse after the expulsion, because 30 minutes with one less [player] at the Bernabeu in the Champions League is a lot.
“They have had more chances, we have a lot to improve for the second leg. The feeling is that we are not at our level, we look at ourselves and the players are the first to be responsible.”
Next up on the agenda for Chelsea is a visit from Brighton on Saturday before Real Madrid come to town for the second leg of the quarter-final.
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