Frank Lampard declared Chelsea’s epic 4-4 draw with Ajax as one of the maddest nights of his career.
Lampard’s men roared back from 4-1 down and were denied a late winner by VAR in a game that had everything, including two own goals, two red cards and almost a dramatic late goal for nine-man Ajax.
When asked if this was his maddest night in football, Lampard said, “I don’t know. It’s hard to put it in perspective. It’s one to watch back. I had some mad nights over the years and some great nights but for everything that it was, the spectacle that it was, it’s certainly right up there.
“Today was just a mad one. I don’t think there’s too many I can even compare it to from my day,” he said.
“I know we had 4-4s with Liverpool and some crazy games, but the red cards and the VAR as well. The VAR is obviously a new animal and we’re getting used to that. I’m not the only manager who’s talking about it every week. I can’t give you any dissection (of those decisions) today because firstly I need to watch it back with a calm head and secondly when you’re on the sideline it’s very difficult to grasp it straight away.
“Take VAR out of it and the red card and what I think about is us, and the spirit that we showed.
“The character was something that I loved and I think our fans loved. We need to tighten up for sure but with that spirit we can go places.”