Chelsea’s interim boss Lampard believes England winger can help Blues conquer mighty Madrid in quarter-final first leg tonight and emulate successful UEFA Champions League run in 2012
Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling during a training session in London yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Frank Lampard has urged Chelsea to ignore the turmoil enveloping his struggling side as he invoked the memory of the Blues’ incredible run to Champions League glory in 2012.
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Lampard is back in charge of Chelsea until the end of the season after replacing the sacked Graham Potter last week. After watching Chelsea crash to a lacklustre 1-0 defeat at Wolves in his first game in charge on Saturday, Lampard takes them to Real Madrid for a daunting Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
Frank Lampard
Chelsea are languishing in 11th place in the Premier League after a dismal campaign that included Thomas Tuchel being sacked in September and Potter lasting only seven months before his dismissal. The west Londoners have managed to progress to the last eight in Europe despite their wretched domestic form.
Winless run for Blues
Knocking out holders Real would be a major upset, but Lampard knows all about defying the odds in the Champions League. Chelsea are without a win in their last four games and once again lacked a cutting edge in the Wolves defeat.
If Lampard’s men are stun Real in the Bernabeu, the Blues boss could do with a rare influential display from Raheem Sterling. The England forward has struggled badly since his move from Man City last year.
Lampard recalled Sterling to face Wolves but there was little sign of the pace and trickery that made him such a force during his time at City. Sterling, who has scored just seven times this term, did grab a crucial goal in the Champions League last 16 second leg win against Borussia Dortmund and Lampard believes he can still have a positive impact on Chelsea’s fortunes.
Also read: Premier League: That’s three in a row
Been there, done that
“Raheem has been there and done it and there’s history of producing,” Lampard said. “He’s been one of the best wingers in the world for a long time, at times, maybe in some people’s opinion, the best. He has risen to games like that in the past so that’s something we’ll obviously rely on. This game won’t faze him,” added Lampard.
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