Champions League

FRANK LAMPARD has only been away from his beloved Chelsea for barely two years since getting the sack as boss.Yet there will still be a raft of new faces for him to get to know.Since last summer alone the club has signed 17 players.
Mason Mount is a favourite of Frank Lampard but where to play him will be a headache amid a huge squad stuffed with creative playersCredit: Getty
If and where Kai Havertz fits in is just one of Lampard’s dilemmasCredit: AFP
Frank Lampard must still be working through all his optionsCredit: Getty
Some, like Raheem Sterling will be familiar, others complete strangers, such as Enzo Fernandez, Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk.
Lampard has only nine Prem games left  to turn around a season that is drifting away despite investment of almost £600million on players alone.
There is also Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final at Real Madrid to contend with.
Here’s what is in Lampard’s in-tray as he prepares for his first game back in charge — at Wolves today.

MOUNT A FIGHTBACK
Lampard answered Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly’s SOS so he is doing the American a favour. But he must still be firm over doing things his way.
Midfielder Mason Mount has not got a look in lately despite being fit again.
Coincidence that one of the club’s most devoted and attacking threats has been kept in mothballs while his contract talks have stalled?
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Lampard loves Mount, gave him his breakthrough and believes he can be a hugely potent weapon in lifting the tempo of a team which has scored only 29 Premier League goals — fewer than any of the ten teams above them.
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KEEPERS
An area to watch closely. Lampard was never a huge fan of Spain’s Kepa — the world’s most expensive keeper at £71.6million.
Lampard signed Edouard Mendy as a replacement but the Senegalese has been frozen out of late. He too is having contract issues.
Now Mendy has recovered from what seemed the longest finger injury in history, will he regain his place with Lampard in charge?
Aubameyang has offered little hope this seasonCredit: Getty
STRIKERS
You don’t need a Uefa A coaching licence to see Chelsea have struggled to find the net.  They create bags of chances but there is no one to tuck the ball away on instinct.
Veteran Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 33, might as well be selling programmes outside Stamford Bridge. He has played just 65 minutes of football this year.
Potter persevered with Kai Havertz up front when the German even admits he is not a lead frontman.
FORMATION
With 32 players in the squad it is a big job fitting everyone in the dressing room let alone on a pitch. Lampard prefers a back three with wing backs and he has two of the best in Reece James and Ben Chilwell.That, though, will condense the midfield with N’Golo Kante fit again, Enzo Fernandez and Mateo Kovacic all vying for midfield spots. Where Mount fits in remains a conundrum with Havertz, Sterling, Mudryk, Hakim Ziyech and Joao Felix all battling for three spaces.
KEEPING THE SQUAD HAPPY
No easy task with lots of established players and young hopefuls who want to show what they can do.
Reports of players changing in corridors because the squad is so bloated will not help morale.
WHAT TO PRIORITISE
Chelsea languish in the bottom half of the table — in 11th spot. They are 14 points off the top four so  need to win the Champions League this season to qualify for it next campaign.
With the budget on a knife edge having spent so much on players, Boehly either needs extra income or a big player sale to keep the Financial Fair Play wallahs at bay.
That would suggest a s**t or bust attack on Europe and let the Prem ride — but every place in the table is worth in excess of a million quid.
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Good luck, Frank. More

FRANK LAMPARD completed his shock return to Chelsea as caretaker manager – and hinted he could take the job permanently.The Blues confirmed Lampard’s appointment on Thursday afternoon following the sacking of Graham Potter last weekend.
Frank Lampard has hinted he could take the Chelsea job on a permanent basis
Frank was all smiles when he took his first training session as caretaker manager of the West London club
Out of a job since his Everton axing in January, Lampard, 44, will oversee the club’s final nine games of the Premier League campaign, as well as Champions League quarter final against Real Madrid.
In the meantime, American owner Todd Boehly will carry out an “exhaustive” recruitment process.
Asked whether this is strictly until the end of the season, regardless of results, Lampard said: “No, but I think the role and the explanation speaks for itself in the period I am here for.
“I’m not getting anywhere ahead of myself. I want to do the best possible role and impact the club in the best way. After that, we will see what happens.
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“I don’t need answers to that point. I have taken that under the conditions.
“My only focus can be this. The feeling I have from the club, rightly so, is that they want to do a process to find the right person to take the club forward whoever that might be.
“That is absolutely their prerogative. Maybe that is why I am here. Of course, it was a surprise, you never know the decision a club is going to make.
“But it is not for me to decide the club’s process and how they go about it.
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“Now it is up to me to do well. After that, of course, it may mean I end up saying thank you very much, and at that point I will be very happy and say I have given everything and hopefully it is positive.”
Following a 13-year playing career at Chelsea that included three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions League, Lampard managed the club for 19 months from June 2019 to January 2021.
He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel, whose first game in charge was a 0-0 draw against Wolves. In a full circle moment, Lampard is now back on the touchline away at Wolves on Saturday with the club in 11th and 14 points off the top four.
Lampard was seen at Stamford Bridge watching Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Tuesday night, a visit he planned weeks in advance and said he had not been approached before kick-off.
However, SunSport revealed that evening that Chelsea were considering hiring Lampard.
Asked why he has returned, Lampard added: “It was a pretty easy decision to make. This is my club. I have a lot of emotions and feelings towards the club.
“I’ve been on a different path since I left Chelsea but to come back at a time where the club have asked me to take the role, that’s the most important thing.
“I didn’t think I would never be in this seat again. I’m a confident person.
“I’m delighted to get the opportunity and I want to be thankful for that. I have a good understanding of the squad.
“But also, the training ground, the stadium, the fans, what Chelsea fans want and I’ll do my utmost in this period to give them what they want with my own hard work.”
A statement from Boehly read: “Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this club.
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“As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.
“We want to give ourselves every chance of success and Frank has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line.”
The midfielder is Chelsea’s all time leading goal scorer
Lampard needs to get Chelsea firing again quicklyCredit: Getty More