Kepa Arrizabalaga, the goalie for Chelsea, has acknowledged that the team's performance this season has been negatively impacted by the significant turnover in both players and coaching staff.
In a season in which Chelsea has spent a record amount on transfers to sign a sizable number of new players, current manager Frank Lampard is the fourth to lead the squad, whether temporarily or otherwise.
The turbulence off the field has affected Chelsea, who are now 11th in the Premier League, and their tenuous chances of winning the Champions League after a 2-0 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarterfinal match, which could have been much worse.
After that game in Spain, in which the Blues finished with 10 men after Ben Chilwell was dismissed, Kepa acknowledged that handling the activity behind the scenes had not been simple.
It has cost us, Kepa admitted, because there have been three coaching changes and changes to the team this season.
After the game, Lampard was adamant about finding the good; he claimed Chelsea had their chances and still had time to make things right; but, Kepa was unafraid to point out the scale of the task that before the Blues.
We feel that they have been superior, and playing in the other half and creating chances has cost us a lot, he said. "It could have even been worse after the dismissal, because 30 minutes at the Bernabeu in the Champions League with one less [player] is a lot.
"They have had more opportunities, and we need to significantly improve for the second leg. We examine ourselves and believe that we are not performing at our best. The players are the first to take responsibility.
Chelsea's next match is against Brighton on Saturday before hosting Real Madrid for the second leg of the quarterfinal.
Chelsea's player and manager changes, according to Kepa Arrizabalaga, are "costing" them.
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