Frank Lampard helped his side to a 2-0 win over Swansea on Sunday which has kept Chelsea in the driving seat to finish in the Premier League’s top four and he’s confident his side will make it despite the Blues’ stormy campaign.
Lampard, 34, netted his 201st goal for the West London club in front of Chelsea’s all-time top goal scorer Bobby Tambling yesterday at Stamford Bridge and the veteran midfielder only needs two more to break the record, but he’s adamant that he’s focused on the needs of the team ahead of his personal glory at Chelsea hope to qualify for next season’s Champions League as well as win this season’s Europa League.
He told Chelsea TV:
“What’s more important is for the club to qualify for next season’s Champions League, and we’ve also got a Europa League final to try to get to and win.
“That’s why [the Swansea win] was crucial, and so is Manchester United next week.
“If we can keep our rhythm with the way we’re playing and stay positive, the big games that are coming we need to try and win.
“If we don’t it will go to the wire, but I believe we’ve got the strong-minded players to go and do it.”
The Blues face a tough run in their remaining fixtures as they play Manchester United (A), Tottenham (H), Aston Villa (A) and Everton (H) but currently sit in third with a one point lead as well as a game in hand over Arsenal, and are three points better off than Andre Villas-Boas’ Spurs.
At this stage it would take a monumental breakdown for Chelsea to fail to finish in the top four as neither Arsenal or Spurs look convincing enough to perform a clean sweep in their remaining fixtures and both have struggled to put away opponents at the wrong end of the table recently. Tottenham also have a vastly inferior goal difference than both Arsenal and Chelsea, so it could end up costing them if things do go to the wire.
Two wins should be enough for Chelsea as long as they do not lose against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge and we could effectively put them out of contention by winning that game. Manchester United have already won the league and have no record points total to chase but I still expect Sir Alex Ferguson’s side to approach the match professionally even though that game may have an end-of-season feel about it.
The match against Aston Villa away could potentially be a tricky one as it seems they’re in a two-way scrap with Wigan at the moment and could be dangerous, but it’s doubtful that Everton will have anything to play for on the last day as they’d have a Europa League spot and a comfortable lead over Liverpool by then.
We have six games left if we make the Europa League final, can Frank Lampard break the goal scoring record and are you confident about our top four chances?
I am not confident in top 4. Benitez is chasing Europa league glory for personal carear reasons, in that is why league results sometimes suffer. If he fails with top 4, he can say that the team is in transition, heavy schedule lack of squad depth, bla bla bla. But europe cup in the pocket will make him successful anyway.
I don’t see what the Europa League has to do with it, it’s two games maximum and we already have an advantage in our semi-final.
Also, why has the strongest XI been starting in the league then?