The 4thegame.com regular feature that brings you the best of the coverage from the UK press. It's not a mere news round-up, but instead gives you all the top headlines, outrageous puns and crazy stories...
Headline of the day...
EMOTIONAL RESCUE
The Independent pay tribute to Frank Lampard after he overcame his sadness at the death of his mother to score a crucial penalty in Chelsea's 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final last night. The Rolling Stones reference makes it our Headline of the Day...
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FINAL TRIBUTE
Lampard celebrated his goal by kissing the black armband he was wearing in tribute to his mother, and that's the image the Daily Telegraph lead with.
THAT'S FOR YOU, MUM
The Daily Mail point out that Lampard's performance came just 48 hours before the funeral, and that his father Frank Snr was close to tears in the stands.
CRIED AND JOY
Also close to tears is Frank Jnr on the back of The Sun, while John Terry says: "What a character Lamps is. He's fantastic. To block out what has been a terrible week for him and all his family is incredible."
A SHOW OF COURAGE BY LAMPARD, A SPOT OF REVENGE FOR CHELSEA
As well as a special night for Lampard personally, The Times say that it was a huge one for his club, who got through to the Final and finally got revenge for their two previous exits to Liverpool at this stage.
BLUES KNEES-UP
Speaking of revenge, Didier Drogba enjoyed the win and particularly his first goal, which he celebrated by sliding on his knees in front of Rafa Benitez, who had accused him of diving, says the Daily Star.
A BRIDGE TOO FAR
For Liverpool, it was a painful night, and the Daily Mirror's photo of Steven Gerrard makes that clear enough, while Benitez insisted that he had no regrets about firing Drogba up with his pre-match comments.
Other top stories...
USE OF JOSE'S TRICK IS RAFA'S DOWNFALL
However, the Daily Express say that Benitez's comments backfired on him and that he should know better: "Benitez used to crow that former Chelsea manager Mourinho would invariably spare him the task of delivering a pre-match team talk whenever their sides prepared to collide in high-octane affairs."
DROGBA'S DANGER FAR OUTWEIGHS HIS HISTRIONICS
The Guardian say: "He had a point about Drogba's histrionics in the first leg, and there are plenty observers who would admire the big Ivorian all the more were he to refrain from throwing his 6ft 2in frame to the ground with quite such exaggered alacrity, but as things turned out the Liverpool manager might have been better advised to have held his peace."
ACT OF BRAVERY FINALLY REVEALS TRUE CHAMPION ON A NIGHT OF HIGH EMOTION
Martin Samuel in The Times though gets a bit too caught up in the emotion of Lampard's penalty: "What a player. What a man. What an absolute diamond of a footballer. The critics, the haters, they cannot touch Frank Lampard now. Not after last night. Not after that penalty. He won, they won. He stood tall, they skulked in the background. The debate is over. The phone-ins, the message-boards, the sad little snipers from outside the arena; what do they matter when set against this, among the gutsiest acts from any athlete, across many decades?"
AVRAM'S THE EXTRA SPECIAL ONE
Meanwhile, Avram Grant's black armband gets explained in The Sun: "It was in honour of Jewish National Holocaust Remembrance Day. And while his players and everyone else connected with the club will still be celebrating one of the most memorable nights in the club's history, Grant today will fly to Auschwitz. There the man who lost many relatives to the Nazi terror will join Jewish dignataries and Auschwitz survivors in a day of prayer."
PREM DE LA KREM
Oliver Holt in the Daily Mirror says: "The confirmation came last night on a muddy pitch in west London: the great days are back. The days when English clubs dominated Europe."
ENGLAND'S FINEST DISH UP A RARE TREAT FOR MOSCOW MENU
Paul Hayward in the Daily Mail says: "So, English football will have its game abroad after all. No political force on earth could stop the hated 39th match mutating into a top-four clash on some other country's allotment. All we can pray for is that Manchester United against Chelsea in Moscow is a vastly better contest than last May's FA Cup Final which scored two thumbs down on the entertainment scale."
RIJKAARD CRITICISES 'LACK OF BEAUTY IN UNITED'S VICTORY'
Frank Rijkaard will be paying close attention after his comments about English teams in The Independent: "I think they have a lot more to give on the pitch to the public. It is strange to see English teams defending for their lives in Europe and trying to win games on the counter-attack. They can do a lot more than that. They have their own spirit and can play football on the front foot. I see it on the TV in the Premier League."
ENGLAND FEAR FACTOR CURBS CLUB CHAMPIONS
Henry Winter in the Daily Telegraph ponders why England has two clubs in the Champions League Final but no team at Euro 2008: "England's problem is psychological, a short-circuiting of the mental software. A freezing of the little grey cells affects Ferdinand, Gerrard and Rooney when they don the red or white of England. Fear is the key."
