Lampard the hero as Chelsea humble Germans
Chelsea 4 Bayern Munich 2
A second-half brace from Frank Lampard put Chelsea on the brink of a place in the semi-finals of the Champions League as they destroyed Bayern Munich at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho may not have been on the touchline to witness Chelsea’s stirring rally, but his trusted lieutenants, Baltemar Brito and Steve Clarke, aided by fitness coach Rui Faria, helped the players seize control of the game.
In Mourinho’s physical absence, fortune had favoured Chelsea as they seized the lead after just four minutes.
Robert Kovac failed to clear the ball properly but Damien Duff’s ball to Cole still carried little obvious danger and neither did the midfielder’s shot from the edge of the penalty area.
However, the ball took a wicked deflection off Lucio and left keeper Oliver Kahn powerless as he could not twist back in time to prevent Chelsea seizing the lead.
Chelsea nevertheless failed to build on that fortuitous early strike and were penned back in their own half for long periods by Bayern.
The Germans were without their two main strikers, with Roy Makaay having joined Claudio Pizarro on the injury list, but they still caused danger to the home defence.
An awful mistake by Glen Johnson, who froze when a cross came straight to him just eight yards out, gave Ze Roberto a clear sight of goal but he dragged his shot wide.
The winger also curled a free-kick just inches over the top as Chelsea somehow clung on to their lead.
They even had a handful of chances of their own, as Lampard curled a volley just wide and Kahn was out quickly to smother the ball at Duff’s feet.
After the break, the Irish winger raced through again and while Kahn parried his shot, Willy Sagnol hooked the ball off the line.
However, Chelsea were still vulnerable at the back and even keeper Petr Cech made an uncharacteristic error as Bayern drew level on 51 minutes.
The Czech Republic international could only parry Ze Robert’s shot after Ballack’s free-kick had cannoned into the wall and Schweinsteiger pounced from close range to bury his shot.
That at least spurred Chelsea into renewed activity. Drogba shot weakly at Kahn but then flicked a header into Lampard’s path and the midfielder’s finishing once again did not let him down.
Lampard may not have struck the ball as sweetly as normal but it still evaded Kahn as the shot inched just inside the far post.
Clarke had a brief chat with Faria before deciding to bring on Robert Huth for Johnson, while Chelsea’s resurgence continued.
Duff had a drive tipped around post by Kahn but Lampard was not finished there.
If his first goal was not struck perfectly, his second was a classic - controlling a cross from Claude Makelele on his chest before swivelling and powering a half-volley past Kahn.
Chelsea moved further ahead with 10 minutes left as Lampard’s corner was flicked on by Huth and even though Eidur Gudjohnsen’s initial effort was blocked, Drogba rammed home the loose ball.
With Mikael Forssell making a long-awaited comeback from injury as a late substitute, Chelsea’s evening looked to be complete – until Ricardo Carvalho was harshly penalised for a foul on Ballack.
Deep into injury time, the Bayern skipper converted the controversial spot-kick to give his side a glimmer of hope. Even Mourinho could do little about that.
| Related Stories: |
|
