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The TimesMay 1, 2008
Act of bravery finally reveals true champion on a night of high emotionChelsea 3 Liverpool 2 (aet; 1-1 after 90min; Chelsea win 4-3 on agg)
Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent
What a player. What a man. What an absolute diamond of a footballer. The critics, the haters, they cannot touch Frank Lampard now. Not after last night. Not after that penalty. He won, they lost. He stood tall, they skulked in the background.
The debate is over. The phone-ins, the message-boards, the sad little snipers from outside the arena; what do they matter when set against this, among the gutsiest acts from any athlete, across many decades?
Didier Drogba’s second goal of the night may have ultimately made the difference between the teams, once Ryan Babel’s late goal confirmed that there are no circumstances in which Liverpool will give up in Europe, but it is Lampard’s bravery that will stand in the memory of all who witnessed this incredible match.
The scores were tied and extra time was eight minutes under way when Sami Hyypia, the Liverpool defender, clumsily fouled Michael Ballack just inside the penalty area and Roberto Rosetti, the Italian referee, having moments earlier erased a goal from Michael Essien for offside, pointed to the spot. At that moment, only those without an ounce of humanity would not have felt a knot tightening in their stomach as Lampard seized the ball.
Not just because a place in the Champions League final was at stake, and to miss would almost certainly have handed the psychological advantage, and the match, to Liverpool. Not just because Lampard is still grieving for Pat, his late mother, who died last week after a short illness, and his head must have been a swirl of conflicting emotions. Not even because to take the penalty meant denying Ballack, a German-born teammate with all that that implies, who has missed once from the spot in his entire professional career.
For all of those reasons, for any one of them, everybody would have understood had Lampard shrunk from the responsibility. Many, indeed, would have preferred it. Lampard did not flinch. Somehow, Frank Sr, his father, did not turn away either. Unlike some of Lampard’s teammates, and Fernando Torres, the Liverpool striker, he looked on, eyes filled with tears, as his son scored, sending José Manuel Reina the wrong way. Pat, your boy did you proud. It was, and will for ever be, his career-defining moment.
And this was a defining match, too. It brought down the curtain on the José Mourinho years at Stamford Bridge, because nobody can omit Avram Grant, his replacement, from this achievement now.
Mourinho has been gone since September of last year but his spectre lingers. This, however, is a triumph of Grant’s own. He has managed all but one of the matches that have taken Chelsea to Moscow and the first all-English European Cup final, while Mourinho’s contribution was a disappointing home draw with Rosenborg, of Norway. Whatever the arguments about the merit of Grant’s appointment, this result means that at the very least he deserves the right to be in charge at Chelsea next season, and the chance to build his own team.
This also concludes the era in which it was considered impossible for Chelsea to get past Liverpool in Europe, the single-goal margin of victory belying the superiority of the home team. Chelsea were every bit as dominant as Liverpool had been at Anfield last week and deserve their journey east for the way that they refused to be intimidated by history. It is Manchester United next, in the Barclays Premier League and beyond. What a climax to the season these two will provide.
Were it not for the emotion surrounding Lampard, the night would have belonged to Drogba. His integrity and honesty having been doubted by Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, going into this game - and with just cause, it must be said - he responded with words before the match and then deeds during it. No prizes for guessing what will have hurt BenÍtez more. Drogba topped and tailed this victory, first with the goal that broke the second-leg stalemate in the 33rd minute, then with what proved to be the winner in the last minute of the first half of extra time.
For lovers of the passing parade, Drogba’s celebration was worth the admission price alone. First, he mocked BenÍtez’s words with a belly-down dive towards the corner flag, then he rubbed it in with a defiant knee-slide in front of the Liverpool bench that almost took him into the arms of the Liverpool manager. You could say he milked it. You could say a good many would, in the circumstances.
The goals were what mattered, though, and a pair of pearls they were. The first came when Lampard put through Salomon Kalou on the left, and he forced a save from Reina. The ball was parried, and Drogba was there first, ahead of a surprisingly sluggish Liverpool defence. He struck his low shot between Reina and the near post, a world-class finish. Then, in extra time, with Chelsea leading 2-1, a shot from Nicolas Anelka’s cross on the right also left Reina with no chance. At the time it seemed almost superfluous; by the time Babel had pulled one back from 40 yards with three minutes remaining - the goal of the night, yet redundant - the importance of Drogba’s strike two could not be underestimated.
In between this furious Chelsea activity, Torres scored after a fine run by Yossi Benayoun, but this was not a happy night for Liverpool. They had few good chances and looked particularly inoffensive in the first half, which Chelsea dominated. It is testament to their reputation in this competition, however, that before the extra-time goals rained in, the noun that best summed up the mood at Stamford Bridge was fear. Not in the soul of one man, though. When it mattered, Pat’s lad had courage enough for all.
Chelsea (4-3-3): P Cech — M Essien, R Carvalho, J Terry, A Cole — M Ballack, C Makelele, F Lampard (sub: A Shevchenko, 119min) — J Cole (sub: N Anelka, 91), D Drogba, S Kalou (sub: F Malouda, 70). Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, J O Mikel, Alex, J Belletti.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): J M Reina — Á Arbeloa, J Carragher, M Skrtel (sub: S Hyypia, 21), J A Riise — X Alonso, J Mascherano — D Kuyt, S Gerrard, Y Benayoun (sub: J Pennant, 78) — F Torres (sub: R Babel, 98). Substitutes not used: C Itandje, S Finnan, P Crouch, Lucas Leiva. Booked: Alonso, Arbeloa.
Referee: R Rosetti (Italy).
Key Battles
John Terry v Fernando Torres
There is no love lost between this pair. When they first locked horns at Anfield in August, on Torres’s home debut, the Liverpool forward scored but also ruffled Terry’s feathers with what the Chelsea captain felt was a tendency to go to ground a little too easily. Terry seemed to have snuffed out his opponent’s threat for 63 minutes, but then Torres briefly evaded his attention to score the away goal that Liverpool so badly needed. It is hard to say who won this duel overall, given that Torres scored, but Terry was certainly the one smiling at the end.
Frank Lampard v Xabi Alonso
And guess what? These two are not best buddies, either. Ever since Alonso’s ankle was broken by a mistimed tackle by Lampard at Anfield on New Year’s Day 2005, they have brought out a belligerent side in each other that seems contrary to their nature. There was no doubting which of them had the upper hand, Lampard approaching the game as if it was a personal odyssey after his recent bereavement. His passing was far brisker and more purposeful than that of Alonso, who, one excellent pass to Riise apart, did not look his usual self. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Telegraph:
Drogba and Lampard drive Chelsea into finalBy Henry Winter
Chelsea (1) 3 Liverpool (0) 2, AET Agg: 4-3
Frank Lampard last night struck the most poignant and significant goal of his fine career, driving home an extra-time penalty to help take the Blues to Red Square. As he wheeled away in celebration, Lampard sought out his father in the stands, sharing an emotional moment a week after the midfielder's beloved mother Pat passed away. If there was one man to assist Chelsea on their voyage to a Champions League climax in Moscow it had to be Lampard, showing real character on his return to the fold. Removed shortly before the final whistle, Lampard walked from the field to tumultuous acclaim. Roman Abramovich was on business in Russia, and Lampard ensured Chelsea, too, would soon have business in Russia.
On another evening, the Stamford Bridge crowd would have revelled in Didier Drogba's double, marvelling at the striker's barnstorming performance. On another night, the Shed would have thrilled to the defensive defiance of John Terry, a true leader on this most tense of occasions.
Chelsea minds could have fast-forwarded to May 21 and an epic conflict with Manchester United, images abounding of Ashley Cole resuming his long-running duel with Cristiano Ronaldo, of Terry colliding with Wayne Rooney.
The future could wait. Everyone at the Bridge had thoughts only for one man, one subject. This was Lampard's night, his chance to do something special. Even before Sami Hyypia's foul on Michael Ballack presented him with his free strike from 12 yards, Lampard impressed, looking lean and hungry, always guiding passes around the pitch.
After a sustained deluge, the going was treacherous but this thoroughbred No?8 kept his footing, floating over the sodden soil, clearly on a mission. Memories of his mother must have been in Lampard's mind; if he had been distracted, or simply not felt like playing, no one could have blamed him.
Bravery is a word that belongs on the battlefield, not the field of sport, but a certain moral courage did define Lampard's performance here, most pertinently as a frenetic game moved towards the 100-minute mark with the score locked at 1-1.
Lampard could have left the penalty to Ballack, so expert from the spot against United at the weekend. He could have thrown the ball to Drogba, so dynamic last night. But Lampard walked across and placed the ball down, ignoring Javier Mascherano's gamesmanship.
Lampard has missed penalties before, notably for England in the 2006 World Cup. Butterflies could have invaded his stomach as he faced probably the best shot-stopper in the world, Pepe Reina. Lampard blanked all thoughts from his mind, except addressing the ball, which he did perfectly, the penalty flying past Reina.
Emotion raced through Lampard's body, chasing him around the pitch. Whatever the Bridge's continuing doubts over the managerial credentials of Avram Grant, the quality and quantity of the players at his disposal simply cannot be disputed.
Lampard was terrific, Drogba outstanding and Terry exuded international class at centre-half. Cole reminded everyone what a good left-back he can be. Michael Essien shines whether at right-back or in midfield. Nicolas Anelka represents a mighty weapon to unleash from the bench.
The richness of Chelsea's human resources contrasts with Liverpool's, a reality that Rafa Benitez must address when he heads to the summer sales. Probably only Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, possibly Mascherano, would force their way into Chelsea's line-up.
And when Drogba is as unplayable as this, even Torres might struggle. Chelsea's No?11 took his first goal expertly in the 33rd minute, seizing on Reina's punched clearance from Salomon Kalou and driving it home.
Drogba certainly celebrated in style, checking his bearings before he made sure he slid towards Benitez, who had questioned the forward's tendency to throw himself to the ground. Chelsea fans loved it, joining in the taunting of the Liverpool manager by mocking him with diving motions.
Chelsea were hungrier, sharper, more organised and tougher. Liverpool were incensed when Drogba caught Gerrard late, although the Chelsea powerhouse had the good grace to seek the England international out at half-time to apologise. In truth, it hardly needed the striker to track back to stifle Liverpool's captain. Gerrard struggled to escape from Claude Makelele, that master of the midfield ambush.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Independent:
Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2 (Chelsea win 4-3 on agg): Lampard summons remarkable courage to fire Chelsea throughBy Sam Wallace, Football CorrespondentThursday, 1 May 2008
That was worth £580m of any Russian oligarch's money. But let's start where football meets something more profound than Chelsea's first Champions League final, a moment in the 98th minute when Frank Lampard buried his face in the wet grass by the touchline while, in front of him, Stamford Bridge went berserk over the penalty he had just scored.
If you could just tear yourself away for a second from the extraordinary game that was unfolding it was worth considering the poignancy of Lampard's personal journey. Moments earlier with the game at 1-1, playing in his first match back since the death of his mother Pat on Thursday, Lampard had taken the penalty that virtually decided this game. That was something special, but on the night that Chelsea finally made good on Roman Abramovich's personal investment, there was plenty to admire among the men in blue shirts.
Alongside Lampard, Chelsea gave thanks to Didier Drogba whose two goals last night say that, unquestionably, he is a man for the big occasion, a player capable of carrying them all the way against Manchester United in Moscow on 21 May. Liverpool were not easily disposed of, they reinvented themselves after a first half in which they should have been beaten out of sight. Through Fernando Torres's equaliser they took this game to extra-time before eventually Rafael Benitez's powers of improvisation, maybe even his good fortune, ran out.
Last year's FA Cup final is this year's Champions League final and before then Chelsea have the opportunity to unnerve United as they chase them down the final straight of the Premier League title race. Never have two English clubs approached the last three matches of their season with so much at stake and so much to lose. They are carving up the two richest prizes in club football between them in a thrilling end to the season.
Most improbable are the identities of the two men who face each other over the dugout. Not Sir Alex Ferguson whose career seems to have been building to a moment like this. But how did we end up in one of English football's most dramatic chapters with Avram Grant in charge of one of the protagonists? He finished last night's game on his knees on the pitch genuflecting to persons unknown. Grant said it was a tribute to his father, a Holocaust survivor; it could equally have been to his powerful friend Abramovich sat high in the West Stand, out of sight behind the glass of the executive boxes.
For the first time since he took over from Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in September, Grant felt brave enough to step onto the pitch and wave to the home crowd. It would be fair to say that the response was unremarkable. Stamford Bridge was lost in a rapture that was new to Chelsea fans, but none of them yet seem to think that they owe it all to the unassuming little Israeli in the dark suit.
By the end of this astonishing game tactical forethought was out the window. Ryan Babel scored Liverpool's second with four minutes left to make it 3-2 on the night – one more goal and it would have been his side in the final. By then Sami Hyypia was playing in attack and Benitez, stubborn, unreadable to the end had taken off Torres and still refused to bring on Peter Crouch, even though he needed a goal to save him. Sometimes the Liverpool manager is just too clever for his own good.
Certainly Torres and, to a lesser extent, Steven Gerrard looked out of sorts in the first half. Rain for most of the day in west London meant that the pitch was treacherous and slippery. Passes went astray or slowed down in the wet. Chelsea's groundstaff have probably been a man down since Saturday's post-match dust-up with Patrice Evra and they will need every pair of hands to restore this pitch.
The game slipped and slid away from Liverpool, Martin Skrtel hobbled off injured after 22 minutes, a major blow to Benitez. In unpromising conditions it was Chelsea who adapted quickest. Michael Ballack and Lampard were the more sure-footed and on 33 minutes it was the Englishman who made his side's first goal. Salomon Kalou ran on to Lampard's ball and hit a shot across Jose Reina that the Liverpool goalkeeper did well to save. Drogba had timed his run late and cracked the loose ball first time past the recovering Reina.
Moments later Drogba was sliding on his knees in front of Benitez, mocking his claims that the Chelsea striker was a diver. The Chelsea fans loved it; the Liverpool manager pretended not to notice. There was a swagger to Chelsea that they had cracked Liverpool's code at last. Ballack struck a free-kick against the stanchion. They seemed to be saying they could finish Liverpool off at any time.
Benitez made changes at half-time, Dirk Kuyt was restored to the wing and he changed sides with Yossi Benayoun. The moment when Chelsea should have killed off their opposition came and went and then Torres struck. Benayoun picked the ball up on the right wing and set off on his only decisive action of the match. Drogba got alongside him but never made the tackle. Benayoun took his chance, Torres had backed into his man to create the space for a pass – the striker flicked the ball past Petr Cech.
Liverpool had taken Grant's team to a dark place and in the break before extra-time they looked as if they had the greater appetite. Five minutes later Michael Essien had a goal disallowed for offside but Chelsea smelled blood. Hyypia upended Ballack in the box and Lampard scored the penalty. Drogba added the second from Nicolas Anelka's cut back and this game seemed to be over.
History will probably forget that, with his team leading 3-1, Cech threw in Babel's late goal because Chelsea held on. Liverpool's season is over now and the sight of American co-owner Tom Hicks after the game, striding across the turf towards the tunnel reminded us that there is much more unfinished business at that club. So too at Chelsea where the miracle of Grant is that he has probably done enough already to keep his job and is one game away from a trophy that is not supposed to be the preserve of novices and unknowns.
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Essien, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Makelele; J Cole (Anelka, 90), Lampard (Shevchenko, 118), Ballack, Kalou (Malouda, 70); Drogba. Substitutes not used: Cudicini (gk), Mikel, Alex, Belletti.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel (Hyypia, 22), Riise; Alonso, Mascherano; Kuyt, Gerrard, Benayoun (Pennant, 78); Torres (Babel, 99). Substitutes not used: Itandje (gk), Finnan, Crouch, Lucas.
Referee: R Rosetti (Italy).
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The Guardian
Lampard sets grief aside to send Chelsea to MoscowChampions Lge Semi-Final L2
Chelsea 3 Drogba 33, Lampard (pen) 98, Drogba 105 Liverpool 2 Torres 64, Babel 117
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge
There has to be patience before even an oligarch's wishes are fulfilled. Five years after buying the club, Roman Abramovich has now seen Chelsea achieve the prestige he craves. The Russian has the particular pleasure, too, of flaunting that status in Moscow, where Manchester United will stand in his way at the Champions League final on May 21.
This might have been Chelsea's anticipated destiny, considering all the funds pumped in, but it still had to be achieved in the midst of sport's uncertainty and emotion. While this game had no real distinction, its course stayed tantalisingly obscure for much of the evening. Chelsea had gone ahead while largely in command of the first half but Liverpool levelled.
The Anfield club was not to get its way, as it had in the previous semi-final encounters under Rafael Benítez in 2005 and 2007. Nor would Liverpool have deserved to do so. This encounter tipped away from them in the eighth minute of extra-time as the substitute Sami Hyypia tripped Michael Ballack as he moved across the edge of the area.
The penalty was drilled home low to the left of José Reina by Frank Lampard. That was far from being the end of the action but it was still a moment that dominated the night. Lampard was remarkable for the concentration he mustered on his return to football after the death of his mother. The midfielder had been significant too for a series of outstanding passes.
Didier Drogba was often the recipient. Benítez, who prides himself on being a strategist, had bungled in his pre-match characterisation of the Ivorian as an habitual diver. Motivational skills are supposed to be reserved for his own squad, but he had inadvertently galvanised a Chelsea forward who sometimes has a habit of trailing off into listlessness.
Drogba's concentration was unbroken here. His second goal, in the 105th minute, came as he slotted home an excellent, low delivery from the substitute Nicolas Anelka. The situation was beyond retrieval even for these opponents, despite a 35-yarder from the substitute Ryan Babel three minutes from the very end that eluded Petr Cech. There were no more miracles left in Liverpool.
Perhaps it is Avram Grant who is trading in marvels. Where his predecessor Jose Mourinho had faltered, he has come through. It is futile to argue against results. No matter how many people invoke the law of averages and argue that, at the fourth time of asking, Chelsea stood a good chance of winning a Champions League semi-final, the honour goes down on the Israeli's CV. All evidence shows, too, that the defeat of United at the Luzhniki stadium is wholly feasible.
Chelsea were the better team at the outset and while they drifted into danger later on they also rallied to regain the initiative. That was laudable in view of that fact that Liverpool, with 28 goals, troop out of the Champions League as its highest scorers this season. So much for the cliche that they are a side drilled to such extremes that spontaneity is forbidden.
If Grant's team were to take the lead, Drogba had always been the most likely scorer. Lampard nearly set the striker free after 12 minutes and Martin Skrtel intervened at a price, picking up the knee injury that later saw him replaced by Hyypia. Drogba was once more picked out by Lampard in the 19th minute and the striker should not have pulled his effort wide.
Typically for a scorer, he was to make the most of a less promising opportunity. On 33 minutes the Liverpool right-back Alvaro Arbeloa was lax and as Salomon Kalou moved on to another Lampard pass he slipped across Hyypia and forced a parry from Reina. Drogba met the loose ball with conviction to thrash a tremendous drive low into the net through the merest hint of a gap at the near post, despite the fact that Reina and John Arne Riise were in front of him.
Liverpool's level of conviction still did not waver then, but Chelsea were enlivened. A free-kick came their way in the same position where Ballack and Drogba had squabbled with one another in last Saturday's victory over Manchester United. It could be that a protocol has been agreed since then. The German was undistracted before taking it and his effort pinged against the pole behind the goal that holds up the nets.
Benítez's team are not readily deterred, of course, and Chelsea were misguided when acting as if they could see out the second half while playing passively. The Liverpool manager had chosen Yossi Benayoun rather than Babel to play from the start. There was a demonstration of sumptuous ability from the midfielder Benítez had preferred.
With 64 minutes gone, Benayoun had the tenacity and touch, as he cut in from the right, to evade Claude Makelele and Drogba before feeding a pass behind Ricardo Carvalho in the middle of Chelsea's central defence. Fernando Torres tucked it home calmly for Liverpool's first goal at Stamford Bridge since the appointment of Benítez in 2004.
The satisfaction is negligible. For other clubs, a run to the last four is an admirable effort, but Liverpool, winning the tournament in 2005 and making it to the 2007 final, have come to expect more under the Spaniard. This year it is Chelsea who have the joy of entering an occasion of a grandeur it has never known in its history.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail:
Grant now the special one as Rafa is outfoxed on night of drama at Stamford BridgeChelsea 3 Liverpool 2 aet (agg 4-3)
By MATT LAWTON
The home of great English drama is no longer in the West End but in the north-west of England and the blue corner of west London.
It is at Old Trafford, where redemption belonged to Paul Scholes, and at Stamford Bridge, where Frank Lampard somehow conquered his grief to help guide Chelsea to their first European Cup Final.
Even after the events last Saturday which marred the meeting between Manchester United and Chelsea this was extraordinary.
From the sight of Didier Drogba taunting Rafa Benitez to the moment when Avram Grant sank to his knees on a day of high emotion.
From the sight of Sami Hyypia bringing down Michael Ballack to the moment when a stadium realised that it was Lampard and not his German colleague who was placing the ball on the penalty spot.
The same thought must have passed through the mind of every spectator. What if he missed? What if, after the terrible trauma of losing his mother last week, he had yet more pain and heartache to contend with?
To compare the two was ludicrous. The loss of a loved one and a football match? But that is where we were, caught somewhere between fear of what might happen and a feeling of incredulity.
That Lampard even had the courage to play is a credit to his family.
That he then wanted to shoulder the responsibility that comes with taking the penalties is almost beyond comprehension.
His celebration was, understandably, emotional.
After sprinting towards the corner flag he pulled off the black armband he wore in memory of mum Pat and kissed it before kissing the ground.
And then, as he ran back towards the halfway line, he appeared to raise a finger to his heartbroken father, Frank.
That Drogba then scored his second of the night to put a third Champions League Final under Benitez beyond Liverpool's reach almost went unnoticed, so mesmerising were the events that immediately preceded it.
But it was just as well he did, given that Ryan Babel struck a second for Liverpool in the second period of extra-time.
What an incredible semi-final this has been. You wait what seems like years for a proper goal when these two teams meet in Champions League semi-finals and then seven come at once.
Two in the first leg, the second of which was that so-costly own goal from John Arne Riise, and then five here last night.
Liverpool will no doubt reflect on the way good fortune deserted them on this occasion.
While Salomon Kalou appeared to be offside before unleashing the shot that suddenly presented Drogba with the chance to open the scoring, Liverpool probably deserved a penalty when Drogba brought down Hyypia.
And what a difference that could have made when the incident occurred shortly before Babel's late strike.
By then, of course, Drogba had already delivered the perfect riposte to Benitez for what the Liverpool manager must now accept was a rather untimely attack.
A serial diver was how the Spaniard described Chelsea's striker. Last night he performed the role of serial killer, running straight to Benitez after pouncing on Pepe Reina's failure to hold that Kalou shot in the 33rd minute. Drogba even had a picture of Benitez on his peg in the dressing room last night.
Grant might have opted for a picture of Jose Mourinho but he can bury the ghost of his predecessor along with the 'ghost goal' that has haunted Chelsea since that first semi-final meeting in 2005.
He has been ridiculed and reviled. Branded an impostor, on these pages, it has to be said, as well as on the terraces of Stamford Bridge, and an Israeli who had no right to succeed Mourinho last September.
But that assessment should now change, and not just because he has conquered Mourinho's nemesis: not just because he has done something that proved beyond Mourinho by overcoming a Liverpool team to reach a Champions League Final.
Whatever happens now, Grant can reflect on his tenure at Chelsea with pride. He is taking United to the wire in the title race and now he will meet them in Moscow as well.
Not only that, he has given Roman Abramovich the opportunity to show off his favourite toy to his friends and countrymen. If Mourinho was the Special One, he does not look quite so special now. Not in the eyes of Chelsea's Russian owner, anyway.
A third European semi-final between these sides finally ended in victory for Grant and not even Steven Gerrard could bring him down. Liverpool's captain went close, colliding with Chelsea's manager in almost comical fashion but Grant has a low centre of gravity.
Something he demonstrated again when he dropped to the ground at the sound of the final whistle. When he eventually climbed back to his feet, he had never looked taller.
Whether he can now join the pantheon of managers who have lifted the European Cup remains to be seen. It will not be easy when Sir Alex Ferguson is every bit as determined to join an even more exclusive club - managers who have won club football's most illustrious prize more than once.
But only goal difference currently separates these two English teams in the Barclays Premier League and it will be harder to call even than this semi-final, a game that punters should consider only as entertainment rather than a chance to make a few quid.
This match was typical of previous encounters even if it did include a good deal more goals. It was fiercely contested and played, at times, at a furious pace.
When Drogba scored his first, Liverpool appeared to be in serious trouble. But then we were reminded how resilient this Liverpool team can be.
No sooner had Yossi Benayoun escaped the clutches of Claude Makelele in the 64th minute than Fernando Torres had scored and propelled this match towards extratime and what Chelsea no doubt feared would be penalties - a fear that was compounded by the sight of a Michael Essien goal being disallowed a few minutes into that final period.
But then came something that no one expected: Lampard, the ball and the penalty spot. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LAMPARD: THAT'S FOR YOU MUM
Frank Lampard Thursday May 1,2008 By Tony Banks Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2 (AET: Chelsea win 4-3 on agg)
Frank Lampard’s courageous penalty and Didier Drogba’s second goal of the night saw Chelsea through extra-time and into their first Champions League final last night.
Liverpool, twice their conquerors at this stage of the competition in the last four years, had forced the added period when Fernando Torres cancelled out Drogba’s first-half opener and still threatened when substitute Ryan Babel added a late goal.
However, this time it was Chelsea’s night and they will face Manchester United in an all-English final in Moscow on May 21.
Lampard, whose mother Pat died last week, had asked to play because he knew that was what she would have wanted and his penalty, after Sami Hyypia had felled Michael Ballack, was ecstatically received.
The much-maligned Avram Grant had seen the cultured foot of his fellow-Israeli Yossi Benayoun put through Torres after 64 minutes to cancel out Drogba’s first-half strike. Yes, once again, it was an epic, engrossing battle.
Twice before Chelsea had found themselves ensnared in the web of Rafa Benitez’s tactical cunning in Europe – the same traps that have confounded so many teams.
Yet the belief around Stamford Bridge, especially after luck finally seemed to turn their way in last week’s first leg, was that that run had to change.
There was the usual pre-match sparring – Benitez labelling Drogba a diver, the Ivorian and his manager insisting he was not. But last night history beckoned for Chelsea.
A first-ever Champions League final, their first European final of any kind in a turbulent decade.
Liverpool, of course, had been here before; five-times winners, last night being their ninth semi-final. A thriller had not been anticipated – with Benitez ever a careful, thoughtful planner and Grant equally cautious.
A remorseless machine built by Jose Mourinho and only slightly tinkered with by Grant. It just keeps rolling along.
But the difference last night, the fact that promised some adventure, was that Liverpool had to score. Something they had not managed under Benitez in eight previous visits to the Bridge.
The decision to play Lampard so soon after the death of his mother was a huge gamble by Grant, even though the player himself had insisted he wanted to be out there.
The hope obviously was that the adrenaline would carry him through – and the thought that playing was what his mother would have wanted.
The standing ovation that he got when he ran out indicated that most of the crowd were willing him to succeed, anyway.
Chelsea went for the throat early, as Drogba shot on the turn and Pepe Reina turned the ball behind. But Petr Cech, Chelsea’s hero of the first leg, was swiftly into action as he foiled Torres at the near post after a neat interchange of passes between Steven Gerrard and Benayoun.
Drogba, though, seemed to have at last forgotten the sulks, the petulance of recent months. He had the bit firmly between his teeth and Reina had to dash out to foil him with his legs. Then Drogba raced through but screwed his shot narrowly wide of the far post.
It was a driven Chelsea making the running, as Michael Essien and then Michael Ballack each forced saves out of Reina. But Liverpool were forced to make a change when Martin Skrtel went off injured after 22 minutes.
That freed up Drogba to start bullying Liverpool and suddenly he was at their throats.
The breakthrough came as Salomon Kalou raced on to Lampard’s ball. Reina valiantly kept out his shot but there was Drogba, pouncing on the rebound to drill his shot into the impossible gap between John Arne Riise, Reina and the post.
Liverpool were simply being overrun run by Chelsea’s sheer desire. The nearest they came to unsettling the Londoners in that unrelenting first 45 minutes was when Gerrard barged poor old Grant back into his seat as he dashed to grab the ball. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Emotions run high as Chelsea reach finalBy Mike Collett
Chelsea reached the Champions League final for the first time on Wednesday, beating Liverpool 3-2 after extra time at rain-lashed Stamford Bridge to set up a meeting with Manchester United in Moscow next month.
Two goals from Didier Drogba and a penalty from a grieving Frank Lampard gave them a 4-3 aggregate victory in a dramatic semi-final against the side that had knocked them out twice at this stage in the last three seasons.
Liverpool's goals came from Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel, whose speculative 40-metre shot three minutes from the end of extra time somehow bamboozled Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech and revived Liverpool's hopes for the last few minutes.
But Chelsea held on in an absorbing match that was in the balance until the final kick to repay billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich for the millions of pounds he has invested in the west London club since taking over in 2003.
They can now look forward to facing Manchester United in the first all-English Champions League final on May 21.
"It has not sunk in properly," said Chelsea captain John Terry. "We will enjoy tonight but it will take 24 hours to sink in. I think everyone is looking forward to an all-English final. It will be a very tough game in three weeks' time."
HAPPY GRANT
Chelsea coach Avram Grant added: "I'm very very happy. Every time you create history is something special. We created history and I'm very proud that I did it in my way and I don't want to say 'I' but it is time to thank everybody."
United, whose manager Alex Ferguson was at Stamford Bridge to watch the semi-final, secured their place in the showpiece on Tuesday when they eliminated Barcelona at Old Trafford.
While Drogba was the scoring hero on Wednesday with two excellent, powerfully-executed goals, the remarkable Lampard was the emotional focus of Chelsea's ecstatic fans.
The England midfielder, back in the team following the death of his 58-year-old mother Pat last week, wept after scoring the decisive penalty that put them 2-1 ahead in the 98th minute and got a standing ovation when he was substituted near the end.
He had a decisive impact on the match, too, beginning the move that led to Chelsea's opening goal after 33 minutes and which Drogba completed after Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina did well to parry a fiercely struck shot from Salomon Kalou.
Liverpool, who had not scored at Stamford Bridge in their last eight visits, broke that hoodoo in the 64th minute when Torres equalised after a brilliant run from Yossi Benayoun.
TORRES STRIKES
The Israel midfielder sent Chelsea's defence into a spin, playing the final ball through Ricardo Carvalho's legs.
It was Torres's 31st goal of the season and enough to take the game to extra time where the match turned Chelsea's way again in a five-minute spell midway through the first period.
First, Michael Essien appeared to have put Chelsea 2-1 ahead and ran half the length of the pitch celebrating before everyone realised his strike had been disallowed for offside.
However, two minutes later Chelsea were ahead once more when Lampard sent Reina the wrong way from the penalty spot after Sami Hyypia had fouled Michael Ballack.
Lampard., who missed Saturday's Premier League win over leaders Manchester United after his mother died last Thursday, was engulfed by his team mates but could not hide his tears.
Ivory Coast captain Drogba appeared to have finally killed Liverpool off when he turned in a cross from Nicolas Anelka with pinpoint precision after 105 minutes.
But Liverpool, five times European champions, winners under coach Rafa Benitez in 2005 and beaten finalists last year, never gave up and got an unlikely reprieve with Babel's goal.
That, though, was their last hurrah as Chelsea held on to celebrate an epic win in front of their delirious fans.
"It is something amazing," said Drogba. "I think today we played very well -- I am really pleased for the club because we have been looking for this final for too long.
"Today what we achieved is fantastic for the fans."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirror:
Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2
From SHAUN CUSTIS at Stamford Bridge
Published: Today Chelsea win 4-3 on aggregate
FRANK LAMPARD’S mum Pat will be looking down proudly on her son.
What character her boy showed at Stamford Bridge last night.
Just pulling it together to play less than a week after his mother’s death was brave enough.
But to coolly convert the extra-time penalty which sent the Blues on their way to a first Champions League final was beyond the call of duty.
Young Frank could have stepped aside and allowed the supremely confident Michael Ballack to take it — but he did not even flinch.
Mum was watching over him. He was not going to miss.
The tears welled up in Lampard’s eyes as he ran to the corner flag to celebrate and was engulfed by team-mates.
When he emerged from the melee he blew kisses to the stands towards dad, Frank Snr. There was barely a dry eye in the house — and nor should there have been.
Getting to Moscow to face Manchester United on May 21 will never make up for his devastating loss but it is a fitting tribute to his mum’s memory.
Having been subbed just before the end, Lamps returned to the field at full-time to salute the fans and hug his team-mates.
There was a special embrace for his captain and good friend John Terry while somewhat incongruously the party was going on around them.
Then the vanquished Steven Gerrard, so often a Champions League hero himself offered congratulations and sympathy to his England team-mate.
As Lampard, 29, left the pitch there was also a hug for Avram Grant, a boss so vilified yet one who has done what the Special One Jose Mourinho never achieved — take the Blues to a European final.
How can Grant be judged anything other than a success?
We keep hearing of disharmony in the dressing room and that the players do not want to perform for him. But somehow this team is producing the goods. They could even win a double.
Didier Drogba’s body language shows he has no time for Grant yet he has never worked harder and his performance here was stunning — although Rafa Benitez might have had something to do with that.
Give a Drog a bad name and he will come back to bite you where it hurts.
Kop boss Benitez accused Drogba of being a diver in the build-up and how the Ivory Coast striker made him pay for that attack.
An early shot from 30 yards brought a top-class save out of Pepe Reina and after Fernando Torres was denied by Petr Cech, Drogba shot past the far post after a sweeping move.
But on 33 minutes he found the opening, pouncing to fire inside the post after Reina had pushed away Salomon Kalou’s shot.
Drogba launched into a full-length dive towards the corner flag, got back up and slid towards Benitez pumping his fists right in front of the Liverpool boss. Point made.
The visitors were rattled and Gerrard sent Chelsea boss Grant flying as he tried to get the ball back at a throw in.
However, a half-time pep talk from Benitez shook Liverpool up. Cech denied Dirk Kuyt’s flick and Drogba made a fantastic saving tackle on the edge of his own six-yard box to prevent Torres scoring.
Chelsea were fighting a rearguard action and the equaliser came on 64 minutes after excellent work by Yossi Benayoun.
The Israeli cut in from the right and skipped past two challenges before releasing Torres as Ashley Cole played him onside.
The Spanish striker made no mistake sliding the ball past Cech into the corner for his 31st goal of the season.
Liverpool were back in it with a chance of a third final appearance in four seasons while the Blues must have been fearing another heartbreaking semi-final exit.
Last season, the Reds won on penalties at Anfield and as extra-time began the memory must have been all too vivid for Grant’s men.
They did not want to go through that again and, when Michael Essien sent a screamer into the net from 20 yards, the Bridge erupted.
But it was disallowed because the eagle-eyed linesman had rightly flagged four Chelsea players offside and one of them — Drogba — was clearly doing his best to hinder Reina. But the Blues rendered any disputes irrelevant once veteran Kop central defender Sami Hyypia, on as an early first-half sub for the injured Martin Skrtel, clattered into the back of Ballack.
Italian ref Roberto Rosetti immediately pointed to the spot with the game into its 98th minute.
Lampard did the job like he has done so many times before although never in such difficult circumstances.
Seven minutes later Chelsea had seemingly made it safe as sub Nicolas Anelka crossed to the near post and the clinical Drogba emphatically finished it off.
But with three minutes remaining, Ryan Babel took a swing from 35 yards and his swerving strike caught the normally reliable Cech on his heels and the ball went in off his outstretched right hand.
It made for a nervy finish until there came the sweetest sound of the night for Chelsea, the shrill blast of the final whistle.
United and Chelsea may be owned by foreigners and packed with imported stars.
But on consecutive nights it is two of the nation’s own — Paul Scholes and Lampard — who made the headlines.
Where would they be without the Englishmen? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------