SO MUCH for giving the kids a chance.
When the chips were down and Frank Lampard was starting to feel the heat, he turned to his Chelsea pensioners to keep his trophy dreams alive.
Willian scored Chelsea’s opener thanks to Adrian’s spillCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
With a combined age of 96, a front three of Willian, Pedro and Olivier Giroud is nobody’s idea of planning for the future.
But when your boss is as demanding of silverware as Roman Abramovich, this was all about the here and now for Lampard.
So it was goodbye to the baby Blues and hello to the old guard for an FA Cup tie Chelsea simply could not afford to lose.
To be fair, the absence of 15-goal top scorer Tammy Abraham with a persistent ankle injury did not leave them with a lot of attacking alternatives.
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have barely kicked a ball this season, while Lampard has clearly given up on the idea of Michy Batshuayi leading the attack.
So he has reluctantly turned to the veteran Giroud in the search for someone to dig his faltering team out of a hole.
And the France targetman, 33, did as much as anyone to put Liverpool to the sword.
Not many strikers get the better of Virgil van Dijk in an aerial battle but Giroud won more than his share of headers and flick-ons to keep the visitors pinned in their own half.
And it was his ability to keep possession high up the pitch which allowed wingers Willian and Pedro to work the channels and cut inside.
Pedro, 32, had a chance to cash in early on when he was picked out in the pocket by Ross Barkley’s raking crossfield pass.
But the little Spaniard is not quite as quick as he once was and before he could get a shot off he had been hunted down by Liverpool’s 18-year-old right-back Neco Williams.
Giroud was just unable to apply a finishing touch to Cesar Azpilicueta’s corner as Chelsea looked to profit on Liverpool’s early nerves.
Yet even with Joe Gomez restored to the heart of the Reds’ defence, they were still struggling to contain the Blue onslaught. Adrian did well to keep out a Willian piledriver after he had been teed up inside the area by Pedro’s probing pass.
Kovacic and Willian both injured for Chelsea against Liverpool
But seconds later, Liverpool’s back-up keeper was completely undone when he failed to keep his eye on Willian’s 13th-minute shot and allowed the ball to squirm through his grasp.
Lampard was far from happy when Willian, 31, recently revealed he has been offered a new two-year contract but is holding out for an extra 12 months.
But if there was going to be any way back into the manager’s good books, this was surely it.
The Brazilian only made it to the 49th minute before limping off with a strain and Lampard will be hoping it is nothing serious given all his other injury problems.
Like Willian, Giroud and Pedro are also out of contract at the end of the season and likely to be leaving as free agents in the summer.
But they still have a major role to play in the next couple of months before emptying their Stamford Bridge lockers for the final time.
It was Giroud’s duel with Van Dijk which forced the Liverpool skipper into the wayward header which eventually led to Barkley’s killer second goal.
He was only denied a goal of his own when Adrian pushed his late shot against the bar after he outmuscled Gomez once again.
And Pedro could have put the icing on the cake when he raced clear from his own half but ran out of steam right at the death — and he could not summon sufficient strength in his shot to beat Adrian.
But it did not matter. The damage had already been done and Chelsea’s old guard are now dreaming of one last trip down Wembley Way.
Olivier Giroud has been leading the line in Tammy Abraham’s absenceCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Pedro completed an experienced attacking trident for ChelseaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
