Chelsea stayed on course to win their first Champions Cup despite the absence of manager Jose Mourinho, and AC Milan moved closer to their seventh European title with victories in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Frank Lampard scored two goals, and Joe Cole and Didier Drogba added one each to help Chelsea beat Bayern Munich 4-2. Jaap Stam and Andriy Shevchenko scored a goal each for Milan in a 2-0 win over cross-town rival Inter Milan.
Chelsea was playing without Mourinho on the bench. The Portuguese coach was banned last week after Uefa found him guilty of bringing the game into disrepute and ”making false declarations”.
Mourinho also will miss the second leg, which is scheduled for Tuesday in Munich. He watched the match from an undisclosed location.
”It was difficult without him because his presence is very important,” said Chelsea assistant coach Baltemar Brito, who handled the team with fellow assistant Steve Clarke. ”But on the other hand, he prepared us and gave us direction all week, and that made us a bit calmer.”
In London, Lampard got his first goal in the 60th minute with a low drive after Drogba headed down a long ball from midfield. He made it 3-1 in the 70th after chesting down a cross from Claude Makelele and firing past Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.
”I’m very pleased, it was 1-1 at time and to get two and give us a two-goal cushion was great, as was the fact that they were both left-footed strikes,” Lampard said. ”The second one I was very pleased with.”
Cole gave Chelsea a fourth-minute lead with a shot from 20m that deflected off the heel of Bayern defender Lucio, but Bastian Schweinsteiger briefly equalised in the 52nd, putting home a rebound after teammate Michael Ballack’s free kick hit the wall and Ze Roberto’s follow was saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Drogba scored the fourth goal in the 81st minute, kicking in a shot from close range following a scramble in the box off a corner.
Ballack scored a penalty in injury time to give Bayern a chance in the return leg.
”I’m disappointed to give up four goals, but it’s good we got one back in the last minute,” Bayern coach Felix Magath said. ”Now we have some hope going home.”
In Milan, Stam headed in a cross from Andrea Pirlo in first-half injury time, and Shevchenko doubled the lead with his fourth Champions League goal in the 74th minute, also from a Pirlo feed.
Shevchenko was making his return after a 46-day absence due to a cheekbone fracture.
”It was a difficult match for me after a long absence,” said Shevchenko, the 2004 European player of the year. ”It’s a good result but we must not feel safe.”
Milan goalkeeper Dida also played a role in the win. The Brazil international saved a curling free kick from Sinisa Mihajlovic and a diagonal shot by Julio Ricardo Cruz.
”It’s no shame losing to a great team like Milan … we still can hope in the remaining 90 minutes,” Inter coach Roberto Mancini said. ”We have nothing to lose and will take risks. There is a long history of comebacks in soccer.”
In 2003, AC Milan eliminated Inter from the semifinals and went on to win their sixth Champions Cup title.
On Tuesday, a pair of early volleys from Sami Hyypia and Luis Garcia helped Liverpool beat Juventus 2-1 in a match that commemorated the Heysel Stadium tragedy nearly 20 years ago. Also, PSV Eindhoven got a late goal from Philip Cocu to hold host Lyon to a 1-1 draw.
The semifinals are scheduled for April 26 and 27 and May 3 and 4, with the final set for May 25 in Istanbul, Turkey. — Sapa-AP