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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
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool33228375324374
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves33127144653-743
12Fulham34126165054-442
13Bournemouth33119134860-1242
14Crystal Palace3399154256-1436
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton33108153448-1430
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3337233188-5716


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