On a soggy night at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea finally prevailed against Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final after failures in 2005 and 2007.

Didier Drogba was immense on the muddy surface and bagged two lightning quick goals at the near post as the Londoners triumphed 3-2 after extra time and 4-3 on aggregate. 

Liverpool battled hard with Fernando Torres scoring yet again but ultimately Chelsea were worthy winners, even if they thought a chance had gone when Michael Essien’s strike was ruled out for offside…probably correctly.

After all the boardroom wrangling at Liverpool, it will be interesting to see what Rafa Benitez does next. Chelsea boss Avram Grant is on his way to Moscow to face Manchester United in the first all-English final, and as he sank to his knees at the end Chelsea fans finally saw the emotion they thought was lacking since Jose Mourinho’s departure.

The night, though, belonged to Frank Lampard, who slotted home an extra time penalty to make it 2-1 for Chelsea after Sami Hyypia’s careless foul on Michael Ballack just inside the box.

Days after the death of his mother, Lampard placed the spotkick perfectly and ran to the corner kissing his black armband and holding it to the sky. She would have been proud of you, Frank.

According to a poll on Facebook, strikers Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema are favourites to be in France’s 23-man squad for Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria.

95.8 per cent of the Facebook addicts who drew their own list think Anelka should be included, 95.7 believe Benzema also has to be in the squad for June’s tournament.

Thierry Henry only comes in third with 94.3 per cent.

OK, there’s not much of a difference but a few months ago the Barcelona striker would have easily topped the charts.

Since he left Arsenal, Henry has made excuses for his poor form: he’s too far from his daughter since his divorce and he has been asked to play on the left flank.

In Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg with Manchester United, he came on as a substitute but made little impression as Barca bowed out.

What do you think of the Henry conundrum?

Julien Pretot, Paris

PHOTO: Barcelona’s Henry reacts during the Champions League semi-final second leg match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, April 29 REUTERS/Albert Gea

A great European night following the dull first leg last week but did Manchester United deserve to win over all?

They were negative in the 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp and defended deep for long spells on Tuesday after Paul Scholes’ rocket had given them the lead.

That said, Barca failed to really open up United in either leg despite the silky skills of Lionel Messi. Samuel Eto’o was largely anonymous at Old Trafford and Thierry Henry was poor after he came on.

Was this the last European game for Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona coach?

The first all-English Champions League final beckons….in Moscow. I guess it’s too late to switch it to Wembley.

Lets us know your views below

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s days as Manchester City coach seem to be numbered after his agent said the Swede was unlikely to still be at the club at the beginning of next season.

After a storming start to the season, defeats started creeping in but the end result is still a very respectable first season in charge and a special one for City fans as it included doing a rare double over city rivals United.

So will it be fair if he is shown the door? His agent said Eriksson would not resign, but perhaps he ought to cut his losses and get out of a club where owner Thaksin Shinawatra seems to air his frustrations to the media before discussing them with his coach.

Bookmakers have installed Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari as the favourite to be the next City manager, but would anyone want to take a job working for Thaksin after seeing how Eriksson has been handled?

And where could Eriksson go next?

Sonia Oxley, London

PHOTO: Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson watches the English Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers, Dec 15, 2007. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has returned to training following the death of his mother last week but, even if he wants to, should he play in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Liverpool?  

Lampard sat out Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Manchester United, which came two days after the death of his 58-year-old mother Pat, and in his absence Chelsea produced their best performance for months.

It was probably no surprise that Michael Ballack, finally given the main man mantle he revels in for big games, stepped up to the plate and capped an impressive all-round performance with both goals in the 2-1 win that kept the title race alive.   

Lampard is undoubtedly a hugely influential and popular player for Chelsea, with an uncanny knack of timing his runs and choosing his positions perfectly to ensure a remarkably regular and prolific goal return.    

However, as England have found to their cost all too often with his failure to gel with Steven Gerrard, his presence does not always seem to bring out the best in those around him - Ballack being the obvious example at Chelsea.    

What a dilemma for Grant. He could leave Lampard on the bench on Wednesday and retain the powerful trio of Ballack, John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien, who performed so impressively against United, but it would be a tough and emotional call to tell Lampard he was surplus to requirements in the most important game of the season so far.

Mitch Phillips, London

Alex Ferguson left PFA player of the season Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for the start of Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat at title rivals Chelsea at the weekend. The Scot was thinking about the Champions League game with Barcelona, but will he live to regret that decision?

Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by vlogonthepitch debutant Mike Davidson to discuss the importance of Chelsea’s victory and look at the run in. Will West Ham and Wigan trouble United? The beauty of the Premier League is that any side on their day can provide an upset.

Our blog after the game on Saturday received loads of comments so keep them coming. If you fancy having a go at a video response, load it up on youtube or wherever, tag it “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it we’ll put it up here.

Bayern Munich could win the Bundesliga championship this weekend without even kicking a ball.

With a 12-point lead over Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 and four matches left, Bayern — who don’t play again until visiting VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday — will be watching from their recliners on Saturday when Bremen and Schalke try to keep their faint hopes alive.

Should Bremen and Schalke fail to win their respective home matches against Energie Cottbus and Hanover 96, Bayern will be crowned champions.  

The Germans have an interesting term for winning the championship in that fashion — “Sofa-meister” (couch champion).  

But Bayern captain Oliver Kahn said it doesn’t matter how they win a record 21st German championship — even if they take it lying down.  

“If we end up winning as Sofa-meister, that’s the way it goes,” Kahn told Premiere Television on Sunday. “You can’t change it. That’s the way it is. Obviously you’d rather win the championship on the pitch.”  

Kahn missed Bayern’s 4-1 win over VfB Stuttgart on Sunday due to injury. He said he would have played if Bayern could have won the championship on Sunday — which would have been possible had Bremen lost and Schalke not won on Saturday. As it turned out Bremen managed a 3-3 draw at Karlsruhe and Schalke beat Hamburg SV 1-0.

So Kahn didn’t even suit up for the match on Sunday…and gave interviews about “Sofameisters” instead.

Erik Kirschbaum, Berlin

PHOTO: Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery celebrates with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld during the German Bundesliga soccer match against Stuttgart, April 27 REUTERS/Michael Dalder

A Ballack double, a late disputed penalty, other penalties not given, a calamitous Carvalho error, Rooney and Vidic injured, Ronaldo left on the bench, Drogba arguing with team mates, two late Chelsea clearances off the line, United players in a spat with the ground staff well after full time…

What else would you want from the big match between the top two? Well there was Chelsea’s nice touch of holding up a shirt remembering Frank Lampard’s late mother after the first goal.

The pair are now level on points with United holding a far superior goal difference with two games left. What’s going to happen? Did Alex Ferguson think too much about the Barcelona game this week?

As Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich prepare to wrap up their domestic titles, at least the Premier League will go down to the wire. 

It is hard to know when to say goodbye. 

A footballer’s career is short and it can be tempting to play on as long as possible. But soccer is cruel and past achievements mean nothing when clubs plan for the future.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, 39, will soon decide if he will retire at the end of the season following 23 years at the San Siro. The defender had been due to quit in May but is having second thoughts. It may all hinge on whether Milan snatch a Champions League place.

Team mate Cafu, 37, says he wants to play on as he is still motivated. The problem is Milan need fresh blood in defence and might not want him to stick around. Sometimes it is best to decide before the club have to.

Luis Figo, 35, is also pondering the future. He was given a one-year deal by Inter Milan last season after he pulled out of a move to Saudia Arabia. Injuries have robbed the Portuguese of his drive and he now looks a spent force. Inter coach Roberto Mancini has hinted this, but owner Massimo Moratti wants to keep Figo on.

Go out at the top, they always say, but if football is all you have known it can be a huge wrench to suddenly stop. Look at what has happened to poor Paul Gascoigne and others.

So what should this great trio do? Hang up those famous boots or plough on in search of even more success?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: AC Milan club captain Paolo Maldini speaks to reporters during a news conference in Yokohama during the Club World Cup, Dec 7. REUTERS/Michael Caronna

In our clip above, Cristiano Ronaldo says “football is like that sometimes” following his penalty miss in Manchester United’s 0-0 draw at Barcelona in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg.

Our vlogonthepitch duo, Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley, wonder whether the Portuguese maestro was a bit too relaxed in taking the spotkick and a bit too relaxed about missing it. Will it turn out to be crucial in next week’s second leg?

Leave a comment below in the usual way or post a video response to youtube or wherever, tag it “Vlog on the pitch” and we’ll load it up here if we like it.