• 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

• Internazionale manager says game is Europe’s biggest
• Portuguese celebrates eight years without a home defeat

José Mourinho has claimed that Chelsea’s clash with his Internazionale team at San Siro on Wednesday in the round of 16 of the Champions League is European club football’s biggest occasion of the season so far.

It is also the first time Mourinho has faced Chelsea since three highly successful years in charge there and he questioned the club’s record under Carlo Ancelotti. Mourinho said a “strong team” would not lose four Premier League games as Chelsea have during the Italian’s opening season at Stamford Bridge.

With regard to Wednesday’s tie Mourinho said: “It’s a big game. It’s a big game for Inter, its a big game for Chelsea. It’s a big game also for Europe because I don’t see in these last 16-round matches another one with two teams of these dimensions. So I think this is the real big game of this last 16.”

Mourinho’s Chelsea tenure ended in September 2007, with the club having claimed every domestic honour. But despite Mourinho’s history at Stamford Bridge he said there would be no extra emotion on Wednesday.

He said: “Not nervous, not excited, I promise you. I have to look at this game with the emotion of any Champions League game, without any extra adrenaline, motivation or extra pressure. “

Mourinho walked out on Chelsea after a disappointing start to the 2007-08 season. But he denied extra pleasure would be gained from removing them from the competition. He said: “It’s the same for me if I knock Real Madrid out or Bayern Munich. And it’s the same for them if they knock out Arsenal or Porto. I think there would be no special pleasure from that. If a Chelsea player is happier to beat me than to beat another manager, I will be very sad because I don’t understand that. If I am happier to beat them than to beat another team I think they have a reason to be very unhappy. The only thing in the game is that we’re all professionals and we want to win. I want to, they want to win, somebody will win, somebody will lose.”

Mourinho refused to single out a match-winner in his former team. “Everybody has great potential, everybody has their strengths,” he said. “If you ask Ancelotti if our danger is [Samuel] Eto’o, Diego Milito, Julio Cesar or Maicon he’ll say the same. He will say the pitch will be full of big players and we have two great teams.”

Mourinho was clear, though, that he will do everything to welcome his former employer, Roman Abramovich. Asked if he would provide the red-carpet treatment for Chelsea’s owner he said: “For sure. I have to text to ask him to see if he needs something from me, if he needs help with tickets, boxes, hotels, something, because when I go to London and other places he’s always available to give me support.”

At the weekend Mourinho celebrated eight years without defeat at home in league and domestic cup competitions, following his team’s goalless draw against Sampdoria. The record was continued despite both Inter’s central defenders being sent off in the first half at San Siro.

Chelsea’s four league defeats under Ancelotti this season, meanwhile, have all come away from home. And Mourinho did express surprise at this. He said: “Of course when a team is strong, strong, strong it doesn’t lose so many matches, so many points. The Premier League is never easy, every game normally is difficult, you can lose every game. But people that know the Premiership know that every game is difficult.”

José MourinhoInternazionaleChelseaChampions LeagueJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk