Jose Mourinho's right-hand man Baltemar Brito said the absent Chelsea boss, believed to have watched the game from a nearby health club, was sorely missed last night. But for 90-odd minutes he was anything but. In fact, it's probably a good job Mourinho wasn't on the bench because when Bayern were awarded the injury time penalty which throws the Germans a lifeline, he would have gone ballistic.
The decision by Sam Allardyce-lookalike ref Rene Temmink stunned the majority inside Stamford Bridge into silence and when the final whistle sounded, seconds after Michael Ballack had converted the spot-kick he himself had earned, much to the disbelief of all who had witnessed it, the reaction of the home fans was one of disapppintment not the delirium which should have greeted a fantastic European performance.
Two-goal hero Frank Lampard, as stunned as anybody that Bayern had got out of jail with a 4-2 defeat, tried to lift the crowd's spirits with a wave of his arms as if to remind them 'hey, we've got a two-goal lead against one of the best teams in Europe'. It was as though everyone had forgot that. The home fans responded with a warm round of applause, if not ecstatic cheers, for the Chelsea players who had battered Bayern into submission in the second half.
The indefatigable Lampard's stunning strikes put the Blues back on top after Bayern sub Bastian Schweinsteiger had cancelled out Joe Cole's early, deflected opener. And when the hard-working Didier Drogba, who never gave the visiting defence a moment's piece, rammed home the fourth from close range, Chelsea were in dreamland. Bayern were down, and virtually out.
Then, deep into injury time, came the penalty which means Bayern are back in the tie and Chelsea still have plenty to think about ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. Hero Lampard admitted immediately afterwards that he and the players 'were a bit disappointed' but that final minute frustration should not be allowed to take the shine of what was a magnificent Chelsea performance and victory.
All the talk beforehand, predictably, concerned the absence (and whereabouts) of Jose Mourinho, but England midfielder Lampard insisted that the manager's no-show had not affected the Chelsea preparations and had little bearing on the game itself. "The build up was very normal," he said. "Jose said we had to go out and do our stuff and the staff got us fully motivated.
"Bayern were very strong, well organised and they have some world class players. We're only at half time and we saw what Bayern did to Arsenal and if we go there with the wrong attitude they will punish it," added Lampard who diplomatically said of the controversial incident that their opponents had been 'let off the hook'. "We're a little bit disappointed. We've switched off and they have scored late on," he said.
"He went down theatrically but I didn't see whether it was a foul. We're in a good position where we're confident we can score goals anywhere in Europe and our defence is good but the game is by no means over."
Chelsea captain John Terry, probably as close to the penalty incident, wasn't quite so non-commital and his verdict was considerably more damning: "It was a harsh decision. I've seen it again four or five times and every time it wasn't a penalty.
"We'd worked our socks off to get that three-goal lead so we're disappointed it was thrown away by a terrible decision from the referee. He wasn't listening all night. Not only Ballack, but a few of their players were diving and that's disappointing to see.
"That's not what we're about in England and it's disappointing to see teams come over here and do that. We felt that the referee should have been on to Ballack as he was doing it all night. There's taking the mickey and there's taking the mickey and I think that's what he's done. It takes a shine not only off their performances but also off a big night." It shouldn't do; Chelsea were brilliant and will still go through.
