It would be one of Chelsea greatest results ever: Gudjohnsen backs Lampard
Frank Lampard has been given a vote of confidence by his former Chelsea team-mate Eidur Gudjohnsen ahead of tonight’s Champions League quarter-final crunch clash against Real Madrid.
Chelsea are attempting to overturn a first-leg deficit against the Champions League holders in Tuesday’s tie after goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio left their European hopes in tatters.
The Premier League side have endured a torrid season that resulted in Graham Potter being sacked as manager and Lampard being given the reigns by Todd Boehly on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Former Blues attacker Gudjohnsen believes Chelsea can rise above their recent struggles to stage an epic comeback, telling The Sun: ‘If Chelsea can turn the tie around then it would have to be up there with their greatest results.
‘This is Real Madrid they are up against, the reigning European champions and a club trying to win the trophy for the 15th time.
So to turn things around after losing the first leg 2-0 is a huge task for them,’ he added.
‘Chelsea must not allow themselves to become desperate. They have to stay in the game for as long as possible – and that means not conceding an early goal.
‘If they can keep Madrid out in the first 45 minutes then they have a chance of turning it around.
‘It’s not impossible. No-one gave us a chance when we played Barcelona at Stamford Bridge in 2005,’ said Gudjohnsen.
The Chelsea-Barcelona clash referenced saw the Blues bounce back from a 2-1 deficit at the Nou Camp to win 4-2 on the night and advance 5-4 on aggregate.
John Terry sealed the winning goal with a late header but Gudjohnsen and Lampard both opened the scoring with early strikes on the evening that is remembered as one of Chelsea’s greatest European results.
The former Iceland international partnered Lampard for six years at Chelsea as the pair oversaw a period of sustained success in the capital.
Gudjohnsen and Lampard won consecutive Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006 and became a Champions League winner at Barcelona in the 2008/09 season.
