‘They outclassed us… it was quite sobering’: Frank Lampard admits crushing Bayern Munich defeat is ‘a harsh lesson of reality’ for his Chelsea players
- Chelsea were brushed aside by Bayern Munich at home on Tuesday night
- The 3-0 loss is their heaviest ever margin of defeat at home in Europe
- Blues’ Champions League hopes all but over ahead of next month’s second leg
Frank Lampard admitted Chelsea’s Champions League drubbing by Bayern Munich was ‘sobering’ and ‘harsh lesson of reality’ for his players.
Their European hopes hang by a thread after they were ‘outclassed’ at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The 3-0 last-16 loss is their heaviest ever margin of defeat in a home European game.
Frank Lampard was made to rue ‘a harsh lesson of reality’ for his players on Tuesday night
‘That’s football at this level,’ Lampard admitted. ‘The levels of Bayern Munich were fantastic… it was a harsh lesson of reality for the players.’
He added. ‘If you go for 90 minutes you have to show more than we showed… (the players) need to use this to a positive effect. It might not feel like that this evening but they need to understand the levels in the Champions League when you reach the knockout stages.’
Lampard insisted ‘you should never say the door is closed’ ahead of the second leg in Germany, but he told BT: ‘They outclassed us in pretty much every department, so it was quite sobering.’
A three-minute brace from Serge Gnabry early in the second half saw Bayern wrestle control of the tie before Robert Lewandowski netted their third.
Chelsea were easily beaten at home by Bayern Munich in the Champions League
Chelsea’s evening went from bad to worse after Marcos Alonso was sent off and Jorginho received a needless yellow card which rules him out of the return clash.
‘We need to be prepared for the second leg and we can’t take it seriously enough,’ Gnabry told BT.
‘We saw last season with Liverpool beating Barcelona, we know we have to be careful.’
Former Arsenal man Gnabry scored four against Tottenham in the group stages and cashed in again on his latest return to London.
Marcos Alonso saw red late on to compound a sorry evening for the Blues at Stamford Bridge
Serge Gnabry struck twice to put visitors Bayern Munich in charge of the last-16 tie
‘I have a lot of friends here. A lot of them were in the stands tonight and I think they were giving me good power,’ he added.
Bayern boss Hans-Dieter Flick said: ‘Of course it’s a really good result for us. The team performed exactly as we had planned’
On whether he is surprised Gnabry was allowed to leave English football, Flick added: ‘No I am happy!
‘I have known him quite a long time… I could tell what he could do.’
Rio Ferdinand branded the visitors’ performance ‘an absolute education’ and a ‘clinic’.