Saving Chelsea’s season will not be an easy task

Frank Lampard is back in the dugout, 27 months after being sacked, having taken Chelsea to the knockout stages of the competition that they went on to win soon afterwards with Thomas Tuchel at the helm.

NOT AN EASY TASK: Frank Lampard has a lot of work to do at Chelsea. 

FROM the moment the team sheets dropped, it was clear which club was strong and stable, which one was in flux.

Real Madrid, managed by Carlo Ancelotti as they were when they faced Chelsea at the same stage last year, had eight of the same starting line-up from the second leg in Madrid a year ago. The Blues, by contrast, are on their fourth manager in the intervening year, having brought in 17 new players at a cost of over €650m, and only four of the starting eleven were in the side that won 3-2 in Madrid but lost 5-4 on aggregate.