The pulse had been faint beforehand and, as expected, it was extinguished for Chelsea well before full time, this Champions League quarter-final exit sounding the death knell for their season.
Frank Lampard’s team had a go, bringing the hustle in the first half and they almost fashioned a lifeline to counter the grave damage from the Bernabéu, N’Golo Kanté and Marc Cucurella missing clear chances.
It was a night when Chelsea were heavy on perspiration, low on inspiration, Lampard’s lineup lacking the X factor, which is quite the oddity given the £550m lavished on new players by the…
