Invoking the memory of Chelsea’s remarkable run to Champions League victory in 2012, Frank Lampard implored Chelsea to overlook the instability engulfing his faltering team.
After taking over for the recently fired Graham Potter last week, Lampard will continue to lead Chelsea through the end of the current campaign.
Lampard takes Chelsea to Real Madrid for a tough Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Wednesday after watching them succumb to a lackluster 1-0 loss at Wolves in his first game in charge on Saturday.
After a miserable season in which Thomas Tuchel was fired in September and Potter was fired after just seven months, Chelsea is mired in 11th position in the Premier League.
The west Londoners have managed to progress to the last eight in Europe despite their wretched domestic form.
A significant upset would be Real’s elimination from the Champions League, but Lampard has experience beating the odds in this competition.
In their surprising run to the Champions League title 11 years ago, Lampard captained Chelsea.
After an unimpressive top-fight season, the Blues finished sixth, and in March, Roberto Di Matteo took over for the fired Andre Villas-Boas.
But on a remarkable night in the Camp Nou, they overcame a 3-1 first-leg deficit to defeat Napoli in the Champions League round of 16, then rallied from a 2-1 aggregate disadvantage in the semi-final second leg to defeat Lionel Messi’s Barcelona.
In the final against Bayern Munich, they needed a last-gasp equaliser from Didier Drogba to set up a penalty shoot-out victory over the Germans in their own Allianz Arena stadium.
Repeating that fairytale success seems beyond Chelsea as they board their flight to Madrid, but Lampard insists anything can happen if his players show enough desire.
After the English Premier League football game between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England, on April 8, 2023, Chelsea’s English interim manager Frank Lampard thanks the crowd on the field. (Image courtesy of Darren Staples/AFP).
There is plenty to it. We managed to hang on for dear life while parking the bus at the Nou Camp, which contributed to that. There are other factors, including fate at various times, he added.
“But we did have a group that had a lot of quality, a lot of character, and a lot of desire to win the Champions League, so that one you remember.
“A team or group will always experience difficult times before reaching fantastic ones.”
Chelsea has lost their previous four games, and in the loss to Wolves, they once again lacked a cutting edge.
Raheem Sterling would benefit from a rare influential performance if Lampard’s team is to shock Real at the Bernabeu.
Since leaving Manchester City last year, the England forward has had a terrible time.
To face Wolves, Lampard called up Sterling, but he showed little of the speed and cunning that made him such a force for City.
Sterling, who has only scored seven goals this season, did score an important goal in Chelsea’s Champions League last 16 second-leg victory against Borussia Dortmund, and Lampard thinks he can still improve the team’s fortunes.
Raheem has experience and a track record of producing, according to Lampard. He has long been regarded as one of the best wingers in the world, and at times, he may even be the best, according to some.
Though certain members of the squad may be a little younger, we will obviously rely on the fact that he has previously performed well in games of that caliber.
“This game won’t faze him. I can’t remember how many times I’ve told young wingers; ‘watch Raheem Sterling and see why he scores 20 goals a season’. I just think he’s a top player.”
