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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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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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