Todd Boehly, co-owner of Chelsea, has been criticised for his pre-match prediction ahead of the team’s defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg tie. Boehly had predicted that Chelsea would win 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu, but the team was outclassed by Real Madrid and suffered a 2-0 defeat. Boehly’s prediction was described as disrespectful by talkSPORT hosts Jamie O’Hara and Dean Saunders, who also accused Boehly of being out of his depth. Saunders said that the owner “doesn’t know what he’s doing” and that “you’re in trouble if that happens”. O’Hara added that an owner shouldn’t be making such predictions and that Boehly was “disrespecting a world class football side in Real Madrid”.
Saunders went on to say that Boehly had no experience in football and that he was operating at the highest level without understanding the sport. He compared Boehly’s position to his own hypothetical situation of going into the NFL with £500m in his pocket and trying to run the Dallas Cowboys. Saunders said that he would ask who was managing his football team and would want to see evidence of their experience and success. He also criticised Boehly for taking over the club with a number three manager in the world in Thomas Tuchel, only to end up with a part-time manager in Frank Lampard going into the Real Madrid match.
Chelsea has suffered three defeats in their last four matches in all competitions, including the loss to Real Madrid. The team will need to win by at least two goals in the second leg of the quarter-final tie to progress to the next round.