Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has said that he wants ‘more’ from this team following Tuesday night’s 1-0 Premier League win over Norwich, but is prepared to wait for it because just getting the result is the most important thing at this stage of the season.
With only two games of the league campaign left to play, Olivier Giroud’s solitary goal in first-half stoppage time was enough to consolidate Chelsea’s grip on third place and massively boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League at a crucial time.
Defensive fragility has threatened to cost Chelsea, who have suffered major slip-ups against both West Ham and Sheffield United since the restart last month, conceding three goals each time. But Lampard was pleased that Norwich didn’t have any real chances at Stamford Bridge.
“We didn't concede any chances of big note for them to score a goal and we created quite a few ourselves. Maybe we could've been a bit better with our quality, but it was professional,” Lampard told Sky Sports soon after the final whistle.
"I want more, but that can wait. Where we're at as a team, and the position we're in the table, three points is everything,” the former midfielder added.
Daylight between @ChelseaFC and the chasing pack#CHENOR pic.twitter.com/OlXhBjXucC
— Premier League (@premierleague) July 14, 2020
“I live the game, so I wanted a bit more quality during the first half. I believe the group has more quality than it showed in those early stages and we needed to move the ball quicker.
“We have to be more mobile which we did here in our last game against Watford, but if we really want to move on longer-term it has to be better, but I don't want to be too critical as three points at this stage isn't easy.”
The margins are so fine at this stage of the season that Chelsea could have started the game on Tuesday in fourth place behind Manchester United had it not been for a stoppage time Southampton equaliser only 24 hours earlier at Old Trafford.
Now, they are four points clear of United, and three ahead of fourth place Leicester.
Chelsea’s next game will actually give them a pause from the Premier League when they meet United behind closed doors at Wembley in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
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Source : 90min