The drawing of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16 will be the best test of the progression of Frank Lampard’s Chelsea so far.
Well, there we have it, proof of the media/UEFA/BT Sport and all other television companies’ conspiracy to derail Chelsea under the management of Frank Lampard. If we didn’t know it before, we know it now; move over Jurgen Klopp, Lampard’s got something to say to Des Kelly, and it won’t be brief.
In drawing Atletico Madrid in the first round of the Champions League knockout stages, Chelsea has once again been handed the hardest possible fixture of the round. Last year, it was an all-conquering Bayern Munich side, but that was somewhat self-induced by a second-place finish in the group. Still, this was the team that won their semifinal with an aggregate score of 8-2. Oh yeah, this happened during the one year the fixture was reduced to one *expletive* leg.
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This time, it’s an all-bludgeoning Atletico side, so far and ahead of everyone else on their side of the draw, it borders on the ridiculous. I mean seriously, think about it. There’s Atletico and then there’s Borussia Monchengladbach (8th in the Bundesliga and newbies at this stage), Lazio (9th in Serie A, serial bottlers), RB Leipzig (lost 5-0 to Manchester United), Porto (perennial last 16 fodder), Atalanta (scary, but also 8th in Serie A and not the team it was last year) and Barcelona (8th in La Liga, spiraling into oblivion, the Arsenal of Spain). But no, the Blues had to get Atletico—who is joint-top of La Liga with two games in hand, has conceded just four domestic goals, joint second-highest scorers, perennial contenders, perennial English heartbreakers and the archetypal knockout football side.
Of course, Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Zinedine Zidane’s perennially ‘on the edge of disgrace’ Real Madrid side showed Atletico could be beaten. So did its middling group stage exploits on the continent, which included a 4-0 hammering and two draws with Lokomotiv Moscow. Having spoken of Atletico’s pretty stunning form throughout this so far though, it bears recognition that form doesn’t even really matter when it comes to Los Rojiblancos.
That’s their essence, the essential reason as to why they’re so terrifying; year on year; rain or shine; Diego Costa or Luis Suarez and with or without Diego Godin, Lucas Hernandez, Antoine Griezmann, Thomas Partey, Rodri et al. Their constants outweigh their inconsistencies, and their one key constant has been Diego Simeone: fearer of no one, fearful to all. Despite a flirtation with Inter Milan and multiple mooted misgivings with the club, he remains their talisman, off and on the pitch. He’s one of the few truly unique propositions for any football manager, but especially one as nascent as Frank Lampard.
Look at the defeat of the once-deemed all-conquering Liverpool side of last year, which came at a time when many believed Simeone’s powers to be on the wane, his players insufficient and his fortunes bleak. Beating the Reds in both legs with an intensity that took even the Kop’s breath away, Atletico overturned a 42-game unbeaten stretch at Anfield going back to when Eden Hazard made heads roll and jaws drop in the Carabao Cup a lifetime ago.
In short, a two-legged affair against Atletico is one of the hardest propositions in football, and the drawing of such a team from the ‘right side’ of the bracket is one of the unluckiest. Lampard has to look past that now. Though the form of his opponents could fluctuate drastically without a care for the continent, his side must build and build from now until February, and pray the resulting facade of form has a strong foundation.