Chelsea went down with something of a whimper in their 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday night, with plenty of frustration present for those travelling back to London. Not least for Joao Felix.
The on-loan Atletico Madrid forward had a chance to vindicate himself on his first game back in Spain since moving to Chelsea, but like his team struggled to get going.
He did have one of their best chances early on, breaking in behind the defence. However he was easily caught by Eder Militao when through on goal, and then his shot was easily stopped by Thibaut Courtois.
It was the start of his struggles, as he failed to get into the game after that. After the match, Frank Lampard defended him to Diario AS.
“Sterling and Joao Felix’s game was tough, above all. He is a great talent. In the second leg we will have more of a sense of urgency, we will focus more on their goal, and I think we will see more of those two players. We have a big challenge ahead.”
Many Atletico Madrid fans have turned against Felix after a tricky few years, and seeing the team move forward without him. Since Felix departed, Atletico have not lost a game in La Liga.
The flipside is this is that Los Colchoneros will likely be keen to sell him in the summer, and this performance will not drum up interest in him. Equally Felix’s value will come down if he cannot show some end product before the end of the season.
