Frank Lampard and Chelsea can separate themselves from Arsenal by seven points with a win on Saturday March 22, 2014. Clive Rose / Getty Images
Frank Lampard and Chelsea can separate themselves from Arsenal by seven points with a win on Saturday March 22, 2014. Clive Rose / Getty Images

‘Great to be back in the race’ says Lampard as Chelsea prep for Arsenal



Frank Lampard is glad to see Chelsea back at the top of the Premier League after several seasons where they’ve fallen short in the title race.

Back in 2005, Jose Mourinho guided the London club to their first championship in 50 years and they defended the title the following season.

However Chelsea have won just one Premier League since, in 2010 under Carlo Ancelotti.

They won the 2012 Champions League and FA Cup, but finished the season 25 points adrift of winners Manchester City in sixth place.

A year later they were 14 points behind Manchester United, finishing third, but won the Europa League.

Mourinho, who returned to Stamford Bridge in pre-season, has downplayed Chelsea’s title chances, saying Manchester City are favourites with games in hand.

But England midfielder Lampard, whose side suffered a setback with a shock 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend, was nevertheless buoyed by Chelsea being four points ahead of second-placed Liverpool.

“It’s great to be in this position,” Lampard said.

“We’ve had a couple of years, two or three years, off the pace, finishing short,” the England midfielder added.

“It’s great to be back in the race and to feel that around the club, to feel we’re fighting for the title rather than fighting for fourth place. It feels good.”

After reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-1 aggregate defeat of Galatasaray, Chelsea face a London derby with Arsenal – who are looking for their first trophy in nine years.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, branded a “specialist in failure” by Mourinho last month, will take charge of his 1,000th game leading Arsenal this weekend.

“They’ve got a lot of good players and quality,” Lampard said of Arsenal. “Every team has to break the mould some time.

“We worry about ourselves, where we are at the minute. If we can win as many games as we can till the end of the season we’ll give ourselves a great chance. I am confident.”

Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

EA%20Sports%20FC%2024
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20EA%20Vancouver%2C%20EA%20Romania%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20EA%20Sports%3Cbr%3EConsoles%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Middle East Today

The must read newsletter for the region

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Middle East Today