• Portuguese returns to Stamford Bridge with Internazionale
• ‘I’m sure it will be a major sideshow,’ says Chelsea midfielder

Frank Lampard today said he would not begrudge his former manager José Mourinho the welcome of a homecoming hero when he returns to Stamford Bridge with Internazionale in three weeks’ time.

The Chelsea midfielder hears only cat-calls when he faces his old team West Ham United at Upton Park but the reaction to Mourinho at Stamford Bridge will be rather different for the second leg of the Champions League last-16 fixture. Inter edged the first-leg 2-1 in Milan last night.

“I’m sure it will be a major sideshow and, quite rightly, he [Mourinho] will get a fantastic reception,” said Lampard of the manager who won five trophies during his time in charge of Chelsea from 2004 to 2007.

“It’s a great story. He is the most successful manager in our history and fans will want to pay their respects to him. I’ve seen that warmth when managers go back and when players go back. It’s nice and good to see that sort of respect from both sides. Our fans will give him a great reception but, when the game starts, they will want to win. It’s simple.”

Chelsea’s hopes of progress have not ended in the defeat at San Siro. They can take heart not only from their away goal but the nature of their performance. It has further fired the belief which has built within the squad that this can be a special season under Carlo Ancelotti. His team are top of the Premier League and also into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

“We have always thought we can win the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup as well,” said Mikel John Obi. “Every game we play, we go in to win. In a club like this we have ambition. We want to win everything.

“If you are at Chelsea, this is what you’ve got to believe. If you don’t believe that, you can’t play for this club.”

Lampard was more circumspect: “I think it would be naive to say we were the favourites because Inter could come and score at our place. So I would say it’s 50-50.

“We had a lot of possession in the first leg and we were the stronger team but it might suit them to play on the counter-attack more, that’s their style. It might suit them if we over-attack, so there are a lot of elements to come.”

Mourinho, as ever, will travel with confidence to London. “Once we put our foot in the first second of the game, we are in the quarter-finals,” he said. “Mentally the lead is an advantage.

“I expect to be very well welcomed by the Chelsea fans. They know how much I gave them. If I didn’t give more, it was because I wasn’t able to give more.

“They know I want Inter to be the winner but they also know that, if Inter is not the winner of this tie, then I want Chelsea to go and go and go and succeed.”

José MourinhoChelseaInternazionaleChampions LeagueDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk

Salomon Kalou was a key man for Chelsea but Carlo Ancelotti may look to Joe Cole to unlock Inter’s defence

Shape

Bereft of left-backs, Carlo Ancelotti decided Florent Malouda would be his best option in that position on two counts: he is left-footed and, given Internazionale’s wingless shape, he would not have to worry about a wide player dribbling towards him. Chelsea started with three front players, with any one of the trio needed to drift wide and close down the opposition full-backs when they looked to build attacks. Chelsea were relying on their wide midfielders, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack, to give them width or, more likely, hoped the full-backs Malouda and Branislav Ivanovic could get forward. With a second leg to come, however, Ancelotti would have planned to keep it tight and snatch an away goal.

Tactics and teamwork

After the shock of Diego Milito’s early goal, Chelsea were not disturbed. They protected Peter Cech well and developed a passing stride. Salomon Kalou, an important figure on the night, held the left side of Chelsea’s front line and, when possession was lost, helped cover Malouda and confront the Inter right-back Maicon. Mikel John Obi kept a close watch on Wesley Sneijder, who was the most forward and the most influential of the Inter midfield diamond. When Chelsea had the ball, Malouda joined the midfield build-up at every opportunity and the visitors’ front three contained José Mourinho’s back four well while also dictating possession. The majority of their shots, however, were coming from a comfortable range for Júlio César in the Inter goal to deal with. As the first half progressed, both Ivanovic and Malouda gained confidence going forward and Chelsea’s narrow midfield was stopping Inter gaining much possession. But they in turn were happy to keep their shape and never got caught out of position. The importance of closing Sneijder down quickly would have been emphasised by Ancelotti at half-time.

Did it succeed?

Overall, Chelsea must be happy with the result they achieved in a difficult theatre. Kalou’s goal was deserved after he had earlier been denied and at that stage Chelsea had created 12 goal attempts compared to Inter’s three. Ivanovic had continued his drives from full-back but Esteban Cambiasso’s goal proved a setback and was a wonderful example of a “knee over the ball” shot. This spurred the canny Mourinho into introducing Mario Balotelli for his ineffective midfielder Thiago Motta. Now Inter mirrored Chelsea’s system of three up front as Balotelli stood wide and attacked Malouda. With Sneijder deeper, however, this helped Chelsea’s midfield to push up the field a bit more. Looking ahead to the return match, Ancelotti may need some of Joe Cole’s trickery to unlock the powerful Inter defence where, last night, Lúcio and Javier Zanetti were superb.

Champions LeagueInternazionaleChelseaDavid Pleatguardian.co.uk