The 24-year-old German international, Serge Gnabry scored twice in four minutes to get his fifth and sixth goal in the competition after scoring four at Spurs earlier this campaign. After leaving Arsenal back in 2016, Gnabry’s career has been in one-way direction and that is towards the top.
After a man of the match display at the Bridge, the former Bunner posted a picture of his goal-scoring celebration with the caption,
‘London still red…#FCB’
This did not go well with the fans of their London rivals, though Serge Gnabry didn’t really seem to care. He was happily enjoying a moment with his former team-mates from north London.
In the comments Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin replied with ‘HAHA I LOVE YOU’ and another former Arsenal player Jack Wilshere said ‘Stopppp it’ followed by two emojis.
These Arsenal players have surely loved to see Chelsea beaten in the Champions league in this way, while their own team couldn’t even qualify for this competition. So this might look a bit childish but it is a reality.
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud also explained that Gnabry was very immature when he was his team-mate back in his Arsenal days. However, things have changed now and that he is happy for the attacking superstar, who has really grown into a better player now.
Giroud stated in his interview post the game that he was very happy for his ex-team-mate. He added that the German winger was just 16 when the duo was together at the Emirates and he wasn’t really mature back then. Despite that, it was great to see him grow now.
Elsewhere Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has admitted this was a game that showed reality check to his squad at what level they are in and where they should improve.
“That is football at this level. The levels of Bayern Munich were fantastic, they are a really strong team and I was aware of that. Unless we were to get everything right and bang on then it was going to be a really tough night.”
“And we did not get everything bang on, we were not confident on the ball and that was my biggest disappointment. That can happen sometimes with an intense atmosphere when all eyes are on, so it was a harsh lesson, a reality for the players of the levels we want to get to.”
“This is Champions League football and we as a club have not been fighting in the knockout stages, getting through to the back end of it, for some years and this is the reality of what it takes.”
The second leg of the tie between Chelsea and Bayern takes place at the Allianz Arena next week. The home side will clearly have an advantage over their rivals. It will be interesting to see which way this tide turns, with both teams keen to move into the quarter-finals of the competition.
Frank Lampard will really have to produce a miracle away from home if his team wish to qualify for the next round. Though it is not impossible, it will be tough for them. The west London outfit have picked up form in recent weeks and only time will tell whether they can really get the job done on the day or not.