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Bayern Munich Give Frank Lampard’s Chelsea a Champions League Lesson
There were times during the second half at Stamford Bridge, as the red shirts flooded forward and the travelling fans bounced in unison behind the Chelsea goal, that Frank Lampard, usually a restless figure on the touchline, could only slump in his seat, as powerless as his players.
The last time he faced Bayern Munich in this competition, he ended up parading the trophy around the Allianz Arena. On Tuesday night in west London, however, any hopes of repeating the feat as a manager – this year, at least – were all but extinguished. Bayern were as ruthless here as they were complacent back in 2012.
Chelsea were still in the game at half-time and might even have scored themselves had they shown a little more composure in the final third. But when Cesar Azpilicueta lost his footing 30 yards from goal shortly after the break, there was an air of inevitability about what happened next.
Serge Gnabry fed Robert Lewandowski, the Pole returned his pass, and the finish left Willy Caballero with no chance. It was utterly clinical and three minutes later the same combination allowed the visitors to double their lead. By the time Lewandowski added the third, converting a low cross from the brilliant Alphonso Davies, the game had become a procession.
Lampard knew what to expect from this Bayern side. He knew that they had put seven goals past Tottenham on their last visit to London only a few months ago – and that, in the lead-up to their return to the capital this week, they had smashed 34 goals in their last 10 games in all competitions.
But knowing what to expect and knowing how to stop it are two very different things. Lampard had said Chelsea would need to be faultless, that they would need to maintain concentration throughout to have any hope of securing a positive result, but they never recovered from Bayern’s opener and, in truth, they were fortunate not to have fallen behind earlier.
Lampard’s biggest disappointment, he explained afterwards, was Chelsea’s lack of confidence and composure on the ball. They did create chances in the first half, but at no point did they control the game and the numbers bore it out. Over the course of the 90 minutes, they had just 37 per cent of the possession and made just 394 passes to Bayern’s 692.
Perhaps, though, it was unrealistic to expect anything else.
And so, instead of parading a trophy around the pitch after the final whistle, on this occasion Lampard could only walk from corner to corner applauding the fans who had stuck it out until the end. On this evidence, his Chelsea side will need plenty more patience and support on their long road back to the top.
Commissioner of Police, CP Olajide Rufus Ibitoye, acting on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, through the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Force Intelligence Department (FID) Abuja, has extended an invitation to the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, for an “investigative meeting with regards to an incident that occurred during the Sallah celebration within your domain”.
The said incident is in connection with the violence that broke out during the recent Eid-el-Fitr procession in Kano, which resulted in the death of a local vigilante member.
The incident happened as the Emir’s entourage moved from the Eid prayer ground to the palace in a traditional procession. The clash, which marred the otherwise peaceful celebration, led to the tragic loss of life of a vigilante member, Surajo Rabiu, and left one other injured.
The invitation was conveyed in an official letter dated April 4, 2025, and signed by Commissioner of Police, CP Olajide Rufus Ibitoye, on behalf of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in-charge of Force Intelligence Department (FID) Abuja.
The letter reads: “I have the directives of the Inspector General of Police, through the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), to invite you for an investigative meeting with regards to an incident that occurred during the Sallah celebration within your domain.”
The Emir has been requested to appear before the Force Intelligence Department in Abuja, opposite the Police Headquarters, Area 11, by 10:00am on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
This development comes amid heightened tensions in Kano State following the earlier decision by the State Police Command to ban the annual Durbar festival due to security concerns. The ban, announced days before the Eid-el-Fitr celebration, was intended to prevent any possible breakdown of law and order during the festive period.
However, despite the suspension of the Durbar, a motorcade procession of Emir Sanusi II still took place on the third day of the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.
The Kano State Police Commissioner, CP Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, had also inaugurated an eight-member Special Investigation Panel (SIP) to investigate the violence.
As at the time of this report, there has been no official response from the Emir Sanusi II’s palace regarding the Police invitation.
Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the political adviser to President Bola Tinubu, has resigned his appointment.
Reports say the former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) tendered his resignation about two weeks ago.
Further reports quoting presidency sources did not, however, provide details of the reasons for his decision, but only stated that it was on personal grounds.
Baba-Ahmed was appointed in September 2023 as Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Over the past 17 months, he had represented the presidency at several public fora, including a recent national conference themed: “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity”, which held from January 28 and 29, 2025 in Abuja.
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the Labour Party, after finding out earlier that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
The apex court held that the issue of leadership was an internal affair of a party, over which courts lacks jurisdiction.
The court further allowed the appeal filed by Senator Nenadi Usman and one other, and held that it is meritorious.
It also proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure group of the Labour Party for being unmeritorious.
In January, the Court of Appeal in Abuja reiterated that Abure remained the chairman of the LP.
A three-member panel of the appellate court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, held that its judgment of November 13, 2024, which recognises Abure as national chairman, subsists and has not been set aside by any court.
Justice Barka made the declaration while delivering judgment in two separate appeals filed by Senator Esther Nenadi Usman and the caretaker committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The appellate court in the two separate appeals held that it did not delve into the issue of the leadership of the Labour Party because such issues are not justiciable.
It said that anything done outside jurisdiction amounts to a nullity. Hence, the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on October 8, 2024, by Justice Emeka Nwite is of no effect because it was delivered without jurisdiction.
