But it was to be a host of other Chelsea greats who were victorious at Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2024 as England beat the Rest of the World XI 6-3 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Bridge.

There were former Blues wherever you looked at Stamford Bridge. From Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino, Jesus Perez and Toni Jimenez in the dugouts, to nine ex-players across the line-ups.

The term ‘club legend’ can sometimes be overused in football parlance but when it came to tonight, there were Chelsea legends on both teams.

No less than six of the squad from the 2012 Champions League final were involved with this year’s event, with Petr Cech, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel in the Rest of the World XI camp, whilst Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill lined up under Lampard for England.

One of the quirks of Soccer Aid is there are no regulations regarding squad numbers duplication, which meant fans were treated to three world-class No. 10s from Blues history in Hazard, Joe Cole and Karen Carney.

There was also a history-making number nine at Lampard’s disposal in EURO 2022 winner and England Women’s record goalscorer Ellen White, who started her senior career at the Blues and spent three years at the club between 2005 and 2008.

As is customary before kick-off at Stamford Bridge, the blue flags were flying high in the West Stand but this time it was in support of Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

The annual event was the brainchild of global superstar Robbie Williams and has been running since 2006. It aims to brings the nation together to help children worldwide have the best possible start in life and has raised more than £90million since its inception 18 years ago.

It didn’t take long for the Chelsea old guard to make their mark on Sunday night: Joe Cole creating an early chance for White and Cech producing a Cruyff turn to evade the former England striker yards from his goal.

And Cole showed his class when he opened the scoring by controlling the ball on his chest inside the penalty area and firing between the legs of Petr Cech.

It wouldn’t be Soccer Aid without the customary flying challenge and Irish actor Emmett J Scanlan – star of the TV Series Kin – duly delivered when he wiped out singer Tom Grennan.

The incredible fundraising event also provides the opportunity to write sentences you could never imagine: ‘Generational talent Eden Hazard was then dispossessed by the slide tackle of Eastenders actor Danny Dyer’ being one such example.

Right-back Dyer’s crunching slide tackles became a theme of the opening half-an-hour and when he was harshly penalised for a foul on Usain Bolt, it gave Hazard the chance to give Chelsea fans the moment they had been waiting for.

Hazard scored 110 times in 352 games for Chelsea, including some of the greatest goals Stamford Bridge has ever witnessed, and he added another impressive strike to his collection when he curled a 20-yard free-kick into the near post and beyond the diving David James.

Another iconic No.10 made it 2-1 to the Rest of the World when Alessandro Del Piero scored, before another couple of classy tens combined to equalise.

Joe Cole was arguably the most influential player of the first half and when he slid the ball through to Jack Wilshere, the former Arsenal and England midfielder rounded Cech expertly to tee up White, who became the first female player to ever score in Soccer Aid when she tapped in for 2-2.

Half-time saw another Chelsea legend enter the field in Ashley Cole and his England side took the lead early in the second half through entrepreneur and Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett, who smashed the ball through the legs of former world champion boxer Tony Bellew.

Some of the former professionals have not long retired, meaning they show flashes of brilliance which made them household names. One of those was Jermain Defoe. The deadly striker cut inside his defender before finding the bottom corner for 4-2.

If Joe Cole had been England’s key man in the first half, in the second period it was Bartlett as he closed down a Bellew kick to make it 5-2 and all but ensure his team would be victorious for the first time in six years.

The game was entertaining throughout as the goals kept coming. Freestyle footballer Billy Wingrove converted a penalty for the Rest of the World XI and Theo Walcott looped over the onrushing Bellew to give England a 6-3 win, their first since 2018.

But the most important contribution of the night arguably came after the final whistle when Soccer Aid founder Robbie Williams informed the crowd that the 2024 event had raised £15,049,590 for UNICEF, taking the total since 2006 to more than £106million.

If you would like to add to that figure, you can donate to Soccer Aid by clicking here.

England

Management staff

Robbie Williams, Frank Lampard, Harry Redknapp, Vicky McClure, David Seaman (GK coach)

Players

From football

1 David James, 3 Ashley Cole, 24 Gary Cahill, 8 Jill Scott ©, 10 Joe Cole, 10 Jack Wilshere, 10 Karen Carney, 14 Theo Walcott, 9 Jermaine Defoe, 9 Ellen White

Celebrities

1 Paddy McGuinness (GK), 92 Steven Bartlett, 15 Bobby Brazier, 8 Stuart Broad, 14 Alex Brooker, 77 Danny Dyer, 4 Sir Mo Farah, 8 Tom Grennan, 12 Eddie Hearn, 6 Tom Hiddleston, 7 Simon Minter (Miniminter), 13 Sam Quek, 25 Sam Thompson

Soccer Aid World XI

Management

Mauricio Pochettino, Jesus Perez, Robbie Keane, Billy Wingrove (skills coach), Toni Jimenez (GK coach)

Players

From football

1 Petr Cech, 3 Roberto Carlos, 3 Patrice Evra, 5 Michael Essien, 6 Kaylyn Kyle, 14 Kheira Hamraoui, John Obi Mikel, 10 Alessandro Del Piero, 10 Eden Hazard, 9 Olga Garcia

Celebrities

20 Tony Bellew (GK), 23 Maisie Adam, 14 Theo Baker, 9.58 Usain Bolt ©, 67 Martin Compston, 9 Diamond (Livi Sheldon), 0 Tommy Fury, 4 Roman Kemp, 7 Lee Mack, 8 Jason Manford, 13 Emmett J. Scanlan, 98 Iain Sterling, 18 Michael Ward, 99 Tion Wayne