Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has sympathy for forwards Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix.
The duo struggled to make any real impact against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter final first leg on Wednesday.
The Blues, who had Ben Chilwell sent off in the contest, lost the first leg 2-0 in Spain.
Post-game, Lampard told reporters: The game for Raheem, and Joao Felix was a tough match. The system we played defensively, the lads got a lot of work. Their main threat, sometimes we counter-attack and to protect the ball. It was a difficult night for us at the top end of the pitch. Joao is a big talent, as is Raheem, I'm not here to criticize it too much. We'll go away and analyze it.
In terms of the second game, we've got a long 90 minutes of football. I think our approach has to be a balanced one. I don't think you can play without balance against Real Madrid with their attacking threats.
We also have to have an extra urgency in our game and an idea of how we can be more forceful in that game at Stamford Bridge. The fans will help and the atmosphere will help. Our job in the meantime is to prepare the team as best we can to turn the game."