Chelsea’s Lampard says they never thought about making CL final after Napoli defeat

London: Veteran Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has said the players were so dejected in the dressing room after their 3-1 defeat to Napoli in the first leg of the pre quarterfinals of the Champions League at Naples, that nobody had even thought about making it to the finals in Munich.

Lampard, who was dropped for the first leg, was restored in the team for the second leg, and scored a vital penalty as Napoli were staggeringly, dispatched 4-1. The Blues then beat Benfica and the Catalan giants Barcelona to make it to the finals of Europe’s elite competition against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on May 19. “We were struggling in Naples, you could see that. You wouldn’t have looked ahead of yourselves and seen this now. You’re experienced enough to know things can change. But, on that night, I don’t think any one of us thought it,” The Sun quoted Lampard, as saying. “We were despondent in the dressing room afterwards and it took a big effort in the three weeks between the games to turn things around,” he added. Lampard said their second leg win against Napoli at Stamford Bridge was the turning point of their Champions League season. “The home game was a massive turning point in our season — in fact, the major turning point in our season. But we always knew as a group we had the quality,” Lampard said. ANI