The pursuit of happiness in the camp under Frank Lampard's second coming veered in the right direction against Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final when Chelsea took the game to the reigning champions on Tuesday night.

But as their Achilles heel in scoring goals proved portentous again, Chelsea's possession without punch ended with blushes as Rodrygo scored twice in the second half to give The Blues a lesson in clinical finishing. 

Since Lampard's return to management, Chelsea have failed to avoid defeat, losing all four games, while he has only won one of his last 17 matches in all competitions.

Despite his attempts to bring back positivity to the squad, Chelsea look dead set on continuing to plummet into summer. Although outlining positives of a hopeful first hour of football, The Blues' interim manager felt frustrated over repeated problems. 

"We played really well for 60 minutes," Lampard told the media. "Really good chances, but you have to take them at this level. It wasn’t our night.

"You’re playing for Chelsea. I won’t let anyone off the hook for [now] seeing the season out. That standard [from tonight from the first 60 minutes] cannot drop.

"You don't want to praise the performance too much when you lose at this level but we were much improved. This club has been further in this competition and the players can take this feeling forward with them for the future.

"It's not for the want for trying [not being able to score in recent games]. You're playing for Chelsea. So regardless, every game you play you have to give everything."

  • Thiago Silva: A strategy is needed

Lampard, who has been reinstated as head coach as a temporary fix for a gaping hole at Chelsea, is an easy subject of blame, much to his poor managerial record.

However, steadying the ship isn't plain sailing, and that was something veteran centre-back Thiago Silva disseminated in the post-match interviews. 

"The manager can only pick 11 from 30-something. That's tough," he said.

"There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play."

Chelsea have replaced their manager twice across the season, spending £550m over two transfer windows under the Boehly investment. 

Relentless overspending on high-profile names hasn't yielded the success of Roman Abramovich's tenure, with The Blues set to miss out on European qualification for only the second time in 25 seasons.

Talking about the inevitable, Silva added: "It's a difficult moment for the club, with a lot of indecision. 

"We had to increase the size of the changing rooms because it didn't fit the size of the team.

"A positive point is that there are amazing players within the squad, but on the other hand there is always players that are going to be unhappy.

"We need to stop and put a strategy in place, otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes."

Currently languishing in 11th in the Premier League with 39 points, Chelsea must find another 11 points if they are to match their lowest points total of 50, set in the 1995/96 and 2015/16 campaigns.

A season of transition beyond the revolving managerial doors is heading into the abyss in the summer. 10 games remain until the most important period of the club's post-Abramovich history begins.