FA CUP/Chelsea 3 Huddersfield Town 1:Frank Lampard could reflect with pride at how far he has come since he swapped east London for west in the summer of 2001.

Yet the occasion of his passing 100 goals for Chelsea also refocused his attention on the journey he intends to make.

The midfielder has won every trophy in the domestic game at Stamford Bridge and he was keen to emphasise how much the club meant to him on Saturday. Supporters of West Ham United, his former team, against whom he continues to rail, might have cringed at the message he had displayed on the front of his vest for the Chelsea crowd - "100 not out, they are all for you, thanks" - but Lampard was entitled to enjoy his moment.

His thoughts would turn, though, to the gap on his CV and the conviction that, after four seasons of disappointment, the Champions League could this time be secured. Lampard and his team-mates arrived in Athens last night for the first leg of the last-16 tie against Olympiakos. He took with him a sense of destiny.

"The Champions League is a funny competition in a way, because a lot of teams that aren't expected to win it, do win it," said Lampard. "You need a bit of luck along the way, you need to be in the right form at the right time. Hopefully we can do that this year, but I'm sure that, with the set-up we have here, there will be a time when Chelsea win the Champions League.

"The disappointments of the past spur us on because there is a frustration to get to three semi-finals and not push on through. The Champions League is very high on our agenda and we're very determined to do well in it."

Chelsea are in form at the right time. They swatted aside Huddersfield Town, Michael Collins' shock equaliser serving as an affront, to move into the FA Cup quarter-finals and make it 15 games without defeat. Momentum is behind them and, one by one, the return of key players is adding to it.

Lampard made his comeback from six weeks out with thigh trouble against Liverpool the previous weekend, while on Saturday it was the turn of John Terry, the captain, who had not played since he broke three bones in his foot at Arsenal on December 16th. Michael Essien made a late substitute's appearance, following his return from the African Cup of Nations, while Didier Drogba, also back from the tournament in Ghana, is expected to be available tomorrow night against the Greek champions. He sat out the Huddersfield tie with a slight knee problem.

"People think Olympiakos away is an easy draw, but they are a very strong team and it will be a very difficult atmosphere," said Lampard. "We need to do the job very professionally, but we've got the players to do that, especially now that John (Terry) is back fit and we have the African boys coming back.

"John has been out for two months but it looked like it had been five minutes, that's the player and person he is. I feel fresh, too, and hopefully it will help us that we've had a few players miss a lot of games this year. That freshness in those players could be crucial in the run-in."

Huddersfield's big day ended on a note of comedy. Their team bus inadvertently departed without Collins and had to circle Stamford Bridge before picking him up. The Republic of Ireland Under-21 midfielder, though, will tell his grandchildren about the way he took James Berrett's ball over the top on his thigh and shot past Carlo Cudicini with the outside of his right boot.

A Cup tie broke out in the second half and Huddersfield emerged with credit. Chelsea, though, with only two undisputed regulars in their starting team and €120 million of talent on the bench, clinically asserted their superiority through Lampard.

His decisive second was his 101st for the club.

Guardian Service