Blues not over for Chelsea; no home comfort for Bayern

LONDON, April 15

Brighton & Hove Albion ruined Chelsea boss Frank Lampard’s return to Stamford Bridge with a 2-1 comeback win today as substitutes Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso condemned the Blues to a third defeat in three games under their interim coach.

Lampard, who rested several first-choice starters before Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Real Madrid, saw the Blues score the first goal of his second spell in charge when Conor Gallagher’s heavily deflected shot beat Robert Sanchez in the Brighton goal in the 13th minute.

But the visitors, under coach Roberto De Zerbi, were the better side for long spells of the match and drew level when Welbeck squeezed between two defenders to head in off the post in the 42nd minute.

The Seagulls got the second goal that they deserved when Enciso scored with an unstoppable shot from 25 yards in the 69th minute, bolstering Brighton’s hopes of European football for the first time in their history next season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur blew a gilt-edged chance to rekindle their hopes of finishing in the Premier League’s top- four when relegation battlers Bournemouth snatched a last-gasp 3-2 away victory over them today.

Substitute Dango Ouattara’s superb finish in the fifth minute of stoppage time secured a vital three points for Bournemouth whose fans celebrated wildly as their side took another step towards top-flight survival.

Bayern held to 1-1 draw

Munich: Bayern Munich conceded a 71st-minute free kick to draw 1-1 at home against Hoffenheim today at the end of a turbulent week for the champions but they stayed two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with six games remaining. But the league draw had only limited impact after second placed Borussia Dortmund squandered a two-goal lead and conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in their 3-3 draw at VfB Stuttgart. — AP