Chelsea gamble on Frank Lampard learning from ‘harsh lesson’ ahead of Real Madrid test

Chelsea have taken a chance on Frank Lampard to navigate their Champions League quarter-final tie with Real Madrid considering his previous record in the competition.

Chelsea have brought Frank Lampard back to the club with a familiar theme of coping with crisis, but the caretaker boss will find things are different from his last spell with the Blues. Two years after he was sacked by the club, Lampard replaced head coach Graham Potter for the remainder of the season with only a week to prepare for the tough task of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final.

Quite what Todd Boehly’s motivation for bringing back Lampard was is anyone’s guess, given his largely unsuccessful recent spell with Everton. But if his last Champions League knockout tie is anything to go by, it could prove to be another miscalculated gamble from the American owner, whose decisions are becoming more difficult to understand every week.

Back in February 2020, Lampard’s Chelsea were pitted against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. Managed by Hansi Flick, the Germans were tipped as sure-fire favourites to overwhelm the London side, but what actually transpired was something of a humiliation for the club.

Bayern destroyed Chelsea in the first leg of their last-16 tie, with Serge Gnabry grabbing two goals for himself and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski rounding off a 3-0 dominant win at Stamford Bridge, which effectively ended the tie as a contest.

After the game, a deflated Lampard conceded his side were not equipped to cope with Bayern’s talented squad, who made them look like amateurs.