12 April 2023 , 01:00
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Frank Lampard admitted watching Chelsea win the Champions League was bittersweet following his sacking - but he now has another shot at claiming European glory as caretaker boss.
Lampard has been drafted back into the Chelsea hot seat to steady the ship until the end of the season with confidence levels low at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues drifted into mid-table irrelevance under Graham Potter, but Lampard has a chance to completely rewrite his story as a Chelsea manager in Europe. The club legend was sacked midway through the season before Thomas Tuchel took a resurgent side to the Champions League trophy in 2021.
And that is the only silverware Chelsea have to fight for with one of the toughest draws possible ahead of Wednesday's quarter-final first leg against champions Real Madrid.
Chelsea will meet Manchester City or Tuchel's Bayern Munich in the semi-finals if Lampard sparks a miraculous revival and the goal-shy Blues knock out Los Blancos.
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He was sacked before the knockout stages last time round, but was credited by the gracious Tuchel who hailed his predecessor for 'laying the foundations' for his success.
And when Lampard was faced with an unenviable last-16 showdown against then dangerous Atletico Madrid, he was honest about the challenge that was ahead.
“I think most people will say it’s the toughest draw that we could have had when you go on current form in La Liga, European experience, quality of team and play," he said after the draw "Most people would say that.
Lampard helped Chelsea progress through the group stages but was then dismissed (PA)“But all draws are difficult in the Champions League. We have to have belief in ourselves. When that game comes round. We’re going to have to beat these sort of teams if you’re going to win the Champions League, so it is what it is."
Of course, Lampard was never afforded that chance to take on the La Liga high-flyers and was dismissed a month later in January 2021 with the club struggling in ninth in the table.
He earned praise for nurturing a talented but inexperienced young squad, but Tuchel's managerial prowess ultimately guided the Blues to the club's second ever Champions League triumph.
Lampard had mixed emotions as he watched Tuchel take Chelsea to Champions League glory (PA)And when asked that summer if he had mixed emotions about the Champions League win, Lampard said: "Yeah, you work towards something you want to be there, you want to be the manager.
‘I’ll never try to lay claim to that. I was part of the early foundation, potentially, but Thomas did a fantastic job getting them there.
"I will say when I watched it, firstly I’m a Chelsea person, the Chelsea fans are happy and the club deserves that.
"And secondly to see Mount and Reece [James] perform at that level, people like [Edouard] Mendy, [Ben] Chilwell and Thiago [Silva] who came in in my time there, makes me pretty proud. Again, it was a great achievement by them and very well managed."
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