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On This Day: Chelsea overcome Liverpool in Champions League thriller

Frank Lampard's second goal of the game sealed a 7-5 aggregate win for the Blues and a semi-final date with eventual winners Barcelona.

Chelsea reached the Champions League semi-finals on this day in 2009 after a thrilling 4-4 draw with Liverpool secured a 7-5 aggregate win.

The teams were meeting in Europe's elite competition for a fifth consecutive season and the Blues kicked off the quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge with a clear advantage following a 3-1 win at Anfield the previous week.

But Guus Hiddink's side went 2-0 down in the return and survived a huge scare before sealing their place in the last four against eventual winners Barcelona.

Brazilian defender Alex celebrates his goal for Chelsea after levelling the score on the night
Brazilian defender Alex celebrates his goal for Chelsea after levelling the score on the night (Nick Potts/PA)

Petr Cech's positional gaffe allowed Fabio Aurelio's free-kick to give the Reds a first-half lead and Xabi Alonso's penalty put the visitors in control at the interval.

Another goalkeeping error, this time from Liverpool's Jose Reina, saw Didier Drogba pull one back for Chelsea early in the second half.

The hosts then equalised on the night through Alex's thunderous free-kick before Frank Lampard steered home Drogba's cross and appeared to put them out of sight, 6-3 up on aggregate.

But Liverpool were not finished. They levelled through Lucas Leiva's deflected shot and went 4-3 up on the night two minutes later through Dirk Kuyt's near-post header.

Soccer – UEFA Champions League – Quarter Final – Second Leg – Chelsea v Liverpool – Stamford Bridge
Frank Lampard's late goal made sure of Chelsea's progress (Rebecca Naden/PA)

With seven minutes remaining, the Reds needed one more goal to complete a stunning win on away goals.

But Lampard, teed up by Nicolas Anelka, scored his second of the night to make it 4-4 in the 89th minute.

Chelsea went on to lose their semi-final on away goals to Barcelona after Andres Iniesta's stoppage-time equaliser at Stamford Bridge in the second leg and the Catalan club went on to beat Manchester United 2-0 in the final in Rome.

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A general shot of a Premier League football ahead of the Premier League clash between Everton and West Ham United at Goodison Park on October 30, 2016
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal281510352242855
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest28156745331251
4Chelsea28147753361749
5Manchester CityMan City28145953381547
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton28121064640646
8Aston Villa2912984145-445
9Bournemouth28128847341344
10Fulham2811984138342
11Crystal Palace2810993633339
12Brentford28115124844438
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs281041455411434
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd2897123440-634
15Everton2871293135-433
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2896133248-1633
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2865173857-1923
18Ipswich TownIpswich2838172658-3217
19Leicester CityLeicester2845192562-3717
20Southampton2823232068-489


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