Under a fortnight ago, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly picked up the phone and called Blues great Frank Lampard to come back and try to steady the ship, with the team in shambles.
In another world, it might have been Carlo Ancelotti on the line to the American. Instead Ancelotti returns to Stamford Bridge dug-out strictly as an opponent, representing Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final second leg clash on Tuesday.
It was Madrid president Florentino Perez who brought the Italian back for a second stint at the helm, after Zinedine Zidane walked away again in 2021.
Ancelotti’s Madrid picked off the Blues in the first game, carving out a 2-0 lead through Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio, and they could have added further goals as they controlled proceedings.
At the other end former Chelsea duo Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger made important saves and blocks to leave Lampard’s side empty-handed.
Ancelotti’s return to Chelsea evokes warm memories of one of the finest ever Premier League sides, which he led to the club’s first ever league and FA Cup double in 2010, halcyon days in stark contrast to the Blues’ recent slump.
The Italian’s Chelsea side featured big characters including Didier Drogba, John Terry, Michael Ballack and Lampard himself, and they racked up 7-0, 7-1 and 8-0 triumphs at the Bridge as they strolled to domestic glory.
Chelsea’s current hodgepodge of players lacks both the leadership and quality of that group, as was laid painfully bare in their defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
“I am sad, yes,” said Ancelotti before that clash. “I have a fantastic memory of this club, of the people that are still working there.
“I’m a supporter of Chelsea, of course, because I spent two really nice years there. “I think and I hope Lampard will be able to do a fantastic job with them.”
It was a generous line from Ancelotti, but the Italian will hope his coach is nowhere near as magnanimous on Tuesday under the lights in London.—AFP
