Chelsea 2-1 Manchester City
Chelsea played a big performance against the defending champions and this year’s runners-up, Manchester City. The Blues fought hard to get a marquee win against an opponent who played well the entire season.
The victory crowned Liverpool FC, Premier League champions, and gives Chelsea an edge over Manchester United for the last qualifying slot to the next UEFA Champions League season. Indeed, Chelsea hold a 5-point margin over Manchester United with seven games more to play (54 points and 49 points respectively). Besides, Chelsea is just one point behind Leicester who sits in third place.
Coach Lampard comments on the big win
“It was a big performance from us. We had to work a lot off the ball, as you do against Pep Guardiola’s Man City. It was tough, but the work ethic the lads put in throughout the game, the focus, how dangerous we were – we had the better chances – we deserved to win.
It’s a big three points. We are in a battle here and it’s not going to be decided tonight. It’s a nice result which gives us confidence. Now the consistency we produce until the end of the season is what is going to define us this year, and get us the finish we want. There is no point in performing like that if we can’t get some momentum and sustain it. That only comes with focus and hard work.
There’s more belief needed in this team. What Manchester City showed us is a team that has been building up and working together for years and has so much confidence on the ball. We have that ability on the ball but we need to be a bit more confident in ourselves, to play, take the ball, receive the ball, and that will come.
Lampard added on what it takes to challenge for the title
“One result against City and a good performance is a great feeling tonight, but the reason we haven’t amassed enough points is because of consistency, which those two teams have reached. There’s a clear gap and it won’t happen overnight with one or two signings. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.
Liverpool and City have been a work in progress for a good few years now. They’ve had a lot of success and they’re getting success now. I’m not going to get carried away. We can get better and be better on the ball; we can have more possession. This was one of the only games where we didn’t have the lion’s share of possession. We have to accept that and be happy with the result.”
