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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.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
