One final roll of the dice. The faint hope of lightning striking for the fourth time in little more than a decade.
It is a brutal illustration of Chelsea’s woes this season that they arrive here, in early April, knowing their last shot at silverware, and their only chance of qualifying for the Champions League, is to ride the wave of memory and win Europe’s most coveted prize. Simple as you like.
Not much about this campaign — two fired managers and two interims, £600million spent on new signings and a slide to 11th in the Premier League — suggests they will leave the Santiago Bernabeu tonight with anything other than a mountain to climb in next week’s quarter-final second leg. Except perhaps faith in the folly of football and nostalgia.
Frank Lampard was a player, 11 years ago, when Roberto Di Matteo replaced Andre-Villas Boas and led Chelsea to a first Champions League title.
‘Frank told us to keep our heads straight,’ midfielder Enzo Fernandez revealed. ‘He told us he won the Champions League in 2012 and mentioned it was in his worst moment at Chelsea. That is a great example for us.’ In public, Lampard has been reluctant to draw comparisons with Di Matteo. He has not spoken to the Italian and insisted: ‘I have to be careful making that parallel.’
Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea failed to have an immediate effect on their form
The Blues have slid to 11th in the Premier League after losing 1-0 to Wolves in their first game under the club legend
But the threads running through Chelsea’s European history are impossible to ignore.
In 2013, Rafael Benitez’s interim spell ended with Europa League glory. In 2021, Lampard made way for Thomas Tuchel, who landed the Champions League a few months later.
In fact, four of Chelsea’s last five European trophies, dating back to 1998, have been won by a manager who took over mid- season. Lampard is back after both Graham Potter and Tuchel were sacked this campaign.
‘To be here as a manager, particularly when a week ago I did not know I would be, is a huge honour for me,’ he said.
‘Are Real Madrid favourites? Yes and I understand why. But there is no better carrot in football than trying to prove people wrong.’
As for pressure? ‘I am not worried about that. Football at this level is pressure. If you can’t handle the pressure you are not a big player.’
There are crumbs of optimism. Real Madrid lost to Villarreal here on Saturday to fall even further behind Barcelona in La Liga. They will be without Ferland Mendy. Chelsea, meanwhile, are boosted by the returns of Thiago Silva, Mason Mount and N’Golo Kante.
Should Kante play, his last four Chelsea games will have come under four different managers.
Chelsea did win the trophy as underdogs in 2021 (left) and 2012 (right) with Lampard
N’Golo Kante has been excellent since returning from injury and could play a big role against Real
The 14-time European champions come into the tie off the back of a loss to Villareal
Kante was man-of-the-match in both legs when these sides met in the 2021 semi-finals. Last season, when Real exacted revenge in the last eight, he struggled.
‘N’Golo is a special player. In terms of coming back and playing at a really high level, I have witnessed him do it,’ Lampard said.
Lampard’s first game back, a dreadful display in defeat by Wolves, underlined the wider problems at Stamford Bridge.
Now they must topple the defending, 14-time champions, led by the competition’s most successful manager. Carlo Ancelotti ruled out a return to Stamford Bridge yesterday. The Italian — who coached Chelsea between 2009 and 2011 — backed Lampard to do a ‘fantastic job’.
source: dailymail.co.uk
