Frank Lampard left stunned by 'madness' of football as Chelsea and Ajax draw epic

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was left speechless after the ‘incredible’ 4-4 draw against nine-man Ajax at Stamford Bridge.

Tammy Abraham’s early own goal was cancelled out almost immediately by Jorginho’s penalty, but Quincy Promes and Kepa Arrizabalaga’s own goal ensured the hosts were two goals behind at the interval.

Donny Van de Beek’s second-half strike seemed to put the game beyond them, only for Jorginho, Cesar Azpilicueta and half-time substitute Reece James to score and level the match.

READ MORE: Stunning three-goal comeback helps Chelsea earn point against nine-man Ajax in epic night at Stamford Bridge

And Lampard, who was no stranger to a stunning Champions League night as a player in west London, called it ‘madness’.

He told BT Sport: “I need to compose myself. I’ve just watched back the first-half goals so I could give you some form of explanation, but I can’t explain the game.

“For all the things that we might analyse, the goals we conceded, the madness of the game, we are here for entertainment I suppose.

“Even though there were some nervy moments, some crazy moments. Anyone who was watching that, anywhere, has to say it was an incredible game of football.”

The first half, which set the scene for a stunning fightback, frustrated Lampard as the hosts found themselves trailing by two goals despite only conceding one shot on target.

In the midst of the second-half chaos, Daley Blind and Joel Veltman were also both sent off in one instance as Chelsea won the second-half penalty which Jorginho converted again.

They thought they had stolen the win when Azpilicueta struck home late on - only for VAR to discover an earlier unfortunate handball by Abraham.

But Chelsea still might have picked up all three points had Michy Batshuayi’s late effort on the turn not been kept out by Andre Onana.

Lampard added: “Respect to Ajax, they’re a great team. What a spectacle.

“The two own goals were the story of our first half. I said to the lads at half-time, ‘I think we’re going to draw this, it could be 3-3 or 4-4, it could be 4-3 – we can win it’.

“I just felt we were so in the game and we were short of just that last pass in the final third. I just felt that we would build momentum and fortunately, we did.”

Former Wigan loanee James called fans leaving the stadium, with the scoreline at 4-1, a ‘big mistake’.

“It was great to pull it back and a shame that we didn’t win,” the 19-year-old added. “It’s always a great feeling scoring here at Stamford Bridge and for such a great club.”

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