‘We’ll learn from this’: Chelsea boss Lampard mulls Bayern mauling
Chelsea’s Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic (L) and Chelsea’s French defender Kurt Zouma reacts at the end of the UEFA Champions League, second-leg round of 16, football match FC Bayern Munich v FC Chelsea in Munich, southern Germany on August 8, 2020. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard insists his injury-depleted side will learn from their 4-1 mauling at Bayern Munich to bow out of the Champions League 7-1 on aggregate in the last 16.
Having lost 3-0 to Bayern at Stamford Bridge in the first leg in February, an injury-depleted Chelsea were brushed aside on Sunday as Robert Lewandowski, the Champions League’s top-scorer with 13 goals in seven games, netted twice and created two more.
“It’s a good exercise for us to go up against Bayern and their Champions League experience, with a lot of our players having debut seasons,” said Lampard.
Chelsea was without the injured Christian Pulisic, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pedro and Willian, while Jorginho and Marcos Alonso were suspended.
“I can see where I want us to go and I know we’ll be back,” added Lampard.
“When you match our Champions League appearances to theirs, I saw lots of good things in the team and also some of the bad we have seen this season.
“It was a hard start for us with conceding two early goals and the result didn’t quite reflect the game, but respect to Bayern, they deserved the win.”
The 42-year-old, who captained Chelsea to their win over Bayern in the 2012 Champions League final in Munich, said the Germans deserve to be considered among the favorites for the title.
Treble-chasing Bayern, who have already won the Bundesliga and German Cup this season, face Barcelona in Lisbon on Friday in the quarter-finals.
“They have a lot of experience and know-how to win this competition, so, yeah, they are among the favorites,” added Lampard.
