Luiz Felipe Scolari joked last night that he may go back to Brazil and never return if Chelsea fail to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. While Liverpool guaranteed their progress — alongside Manchester United and Arsenal — with a 1-0 victory over Marseilles at Anfield, Chelsea need to beat CFR Cluj in their final group game, at Stamford Bridge in a fortnight, to make sure of their place in the last 16 after a 1-1 draw away to Bordeaux, when a late goal from Alou Diarra cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s opener.

To make matters worse for Scolari, Frank Lampard will miss the decisive match after being sent off four minutes from time for two bookable offences.

“We need to win against Cluj at home,” Scolari said. “If I think my team didn’t have the quality to beat them at home, it would be better for me to go home to Brazil and stay there. We’ve lost qualification two times now. We need to think about this, not just now and next week. We have to think why.

“Qualification is in our hands and we need to win the next game, but Chelsea, with these players, have a 75 per cent chance of winning the game at home against Cluj.”

Scolari expressed frustration at the manner of Bordeaux’s equaliser, with John Terry losing his man and allowing Diarra to head past Petr Cech, but he denied that his players had relaxed when they were seven minutes from going through. The Brazilian’s mood worsened even more, however, when Joe Cole hobbled into the dressing-room with a bruised ankle that makes him a doubt for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League match at home to Arsenal.

“It was a bad goal to concede,” Scolari said. “We train hard every day to prevent this and it was the first time we let in a goal from a corner. At that time it should have been an easy game. We were in control and they didn’t try to shoot at all. Then we lost a goal and lost a player and gave Bordeaux more opportunities.

“We didn’t relax — they respect the other team, but we made a mistake. Who marked this player? We had decided who marked the posts, the ball, man to man, but we made a mistake and conceded a goal. Not because the players thought the game was finished or easy, no, it was a mistake. I’m not satisfied with this goal.

“I’ve not said anything to my players. When I have time today and tomorrow I will discuss all the game.”

While Lampard endured a miserable evening, Steven Gerrard, his England team-mate, took the plaudits in Liverpool’s victory, scoring the decisive goal and also winning praise for his calm reaction when he was struck by a cigarette lighter thrown by a Marseilles supporter as he went to take a corner during first-half stoppage time.

A Liverpool spokesman said: “The Uefa delegate is aware of what happened and it is now in his hands.” A spokesman for the European governing body, who was at the game, said: “The incident will be included in both the match delegate’s report and the referee’s report.”

Gerrard was praised by Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, for his “professionalism”, in contrast to Didier Drogba’s reaction when the Chelsea forward was struck by a coin during his team’s Carling Cup defeat by Burnley this month. “It was very important that I didn’t react,” Gerrard said. “The best thing with these people is to ignore them and leave them for the police to deal with.”

Gerrard was less than happy with his team’s performance as they retreated after his 23rd-minute header and were left hanging on at the end. “It was nervy,” the Liverpool captain said. “We got the job done, but I must say we lost control of the game in the second half. This is something we need to look at.”

Victory also came at a cost. Fernando Torres, the striker who has just returned after a month out with a hamstring injury, complained about tightness in the same leg. His fitness will be assessed today.