Frank Lampard hails Chelsea 'spirit' after defying expectations to claim top four place

Blues beat Wolves 2-0 on last day of season to guarantee entry into next season's Champions League

Chelsea players celebrate with Olivier Giroud after his goal against Wolves. EPA

Frank Lampard said team "spirit" was the key to Chelsea claiming fourth in the Premier League after the London club defied many expectations to book their place in next season's Champions League.

Chelsea overcame a tough challenge in Europa League-chasing Wolves, emerging 2-0 winners after quickfire goals before halftime at Stamford Bridge. Mason Mount broke the deadlock with a sumptuous free-kick, before Olivier Giroud finished off a counter-attack less than three minutes later.

"Mason [Mount]’s strike was pure quality, Giroud was class as always," Lampard said after the match.

After losing their best player when Eden Hazard joined Real Madrid and with a transfer ban in place, many expected Chelsea to fall out of the top four this season – particularly with Lampard in his first season as manager and his second overall following just one year at second-tier Derby County.

However, academy graduates like Mount, top-scorer Tammy Abraham, full-back Reece James, and defender Fikayo Tomori have contributed to a fine season for Chelsea, who have also reached the FA Cup final.

"It means a great deal to me, [but] at Chelsea we can’t get too excited with top four finishes," Lampard said. "When we first came in we maybe weren’t considered there, but what we’ve done this season is take the opportunity to bring in the younger players and improve the existing players.

"There were a lot of unknowns when I came in, could we move forward without Eden Hazard? We knew we had lost a massive player. We’ve a real spirit within the group now and it’s a real team effort now.

"Myself and the staff want to improve every time, the challenge now is to see what more we can do next season."

For Wolves, it was a flat end to an otherwise successful league campaign. While their league position is not enough to qualify for the Europa League next season, they could still participate if Chelsea beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final.

Better still for Nuno Espirito Santo and his side would be to win this season's tournament and join Chelsea in the next edition of the Champions League. They face Greek side Olympiakos in the second leg of the Round of 16 on August 8 after drawing the first leg 1-1 in Greece.