Despite the heavy beating of 3-5 by Liverpool, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has refused to blame his players. Instead, he has imposed his belief on them to win their next and last Premier League match against Wolves and secure the next season’s Champions League berth.
“We are at the Bridge, we have a really strong opponent in Wolves, but it is up to us. I have belief in the players. I have seen a lot in the last two games, particularly with Manchester United and then with Liverpool, of what we are about. There has been spirit and character in those two performances and we have to carry it on for one more game in the league,” Lampard was quoted as saying on the official website of Chelsea.
“Since restart there was a feeling it could go this far. I felt we maybe could get over the line tonight before the game because we played so well against Manchester United,” he added.
Chelsea gave Liverpool a tough fight before the Reds lifted their first Premier League trophy in 30 years at the Anfield. However, they slipped to fourth behind Manchester United on goals difference. Lampard’s Londoners still need a point from their last match to ensure a top-four finish.
Meanwhile, defeat on Thursday showed again that Chelsea needed investment in defence. The inconsistent backline, that has now conceded 54 goals in this Premier League season, was left exposed again as Liverpool had gone 3-0 up inside 43 minutes.
“We contributed to this game well and on another night, at 4-3, we go on to get our point but now there will be a lot going on on Sunday. What is absolutely important is the players focus on themselves because it is in our own hands, and that is the job I’ll do because we can’t affect what is going on elsewhere. We have to try to get over the line. We have character in the group, we have quality and we have a good opponent coming and it is on us now.
“I would not talk about individuals in a game where we have conceded those goals. Some were real quality Liverpool finishes, particularly the free-kick. There were some collective and individual errors for the goals. What we did do was contribute to a really good game,” Lampard explained.
“I don’t want to dwell on how many goals we have conceded, I want to concentrate on where we are at. We have a game to go and we want to win that game to get in the top four. Do we want to improve in terms of how we defend? Of course we want to improve. That is part of the process but now let’s be very positive about the game that is in front of us,” he added.