BT Sport Pundits Praise 'Professional' Chelsea After Last-Gasp Atletico Triumph
Steven Gerrard has stated his belief that no other team has 'torn Atletico Madrid apart' in the manner that Chelsea did in their stunning come-from-behind victory on Wednesday.
The reigning Premier League champions snatched all three points from Wanda Metropolitano right at the death as Michy Batshuayi's 94th-minute winner condemned Los Rojiblancos to defeat.
Speaking in the BT Sport studio after the clash, Liverpool legend Gerrard opined that nobody else - including Atletico's La Liga rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona - had come close to matching the intensity and sheer class that Chelsea displayed in the Spanish capital.
He said: ""There will be bigger tests further down the line. And to be fair to Chelsea, that’s the first time I’ve seen this Atletico Madrid defensive unit get torn apart.
"Even Real Madrid and Barcelona, I’ve never seen them two sides, who are the best tin the world, do that to Atletico so it was some performance."
Blues legend Frank Lampard was in agreement with that assessment as he heaped praise on Chelsea for the manner of their 'professional' performance.
Alvaro Morata had drawn Antonio Conte's men level after Antoine Griezmann had opened the scoring from the penalty spot and, while Lampard admitted the overall display wasn't top notch, he credited the Blues for their collective spirit in turning the match on its head.
Asked if he had seen a better display from an English team in the Champions League before Wednesday night, Lampard remarked that he hadn't.
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He added (via the Daily Mail): "I can’t think of one. Eden Hazard was spectacular. But I don’t think the performance was spectacular it was so professional, the discipline in how they set up and credit to the manager for that.
"Their work rate and closing down against one of the strongest teams, who are usually closing the other team down and then the quality of their forward play at certain times.
"Listen they didn’t score loads of goals, I don’t think anybody does there. But to win there and perform as well as they did was huge statement from Chelsea."
