LONDON • Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said his team must embrace the pressure in their remaining Premier League matches, as they look to secure a top-four finish and qualify for next season's Champions League.
First-half goals from Olivier Giroud and Willian and a late strike from Ross Barkley earned Lampard's fourth-placed team a comfortable 3-0 victory over struggling Watford on Saturday.
It was the perfect riposte to the Blues' 3-2 loss at London rivals West Ham in their previous match on Wednesday.
"Every game is going to be pressure now. West Ham was pressure because we knew we could go third. It's a different kind of pressure," Lampard told reporters. "But it's still the same, it's how you focus on the game and the job in hand.
"There was no nonsense. It was good, we started bright and carried on and got the small details right at both ends of the pitch."
An injury to N'Golo Kante, however, took some gloss off Chelsea's comprehensive win.
Kante pulled his hamstring in the second half at Stamford Bridge, and was withdrawn with 12 minutes remaining, leaving Chelsea sweating over the combative midfielder's availability for their run-in.
The fixtures are coming thick and fast for Chelsea, starting with Crystal Palace tomorrow. Sheffield United and Norwich follow in their next league fixtures before Manchester United in the FA Cup.
"He's got a small hamstring injury, so we will see how that goes," Lampard said of the France midfielder.
"Hopefully it is not too bad, but it comes with the territory of this tight restart and tight run of games. A lack of pre-season and we have to rely on the squad."
He would have been enthused by his midfielders who are fit and firing, however, with Barkley scoring and setting up Giroud's opener while Mason Mount earned man-of-the-match accolades by pulling the strings.
"There will be players that come in and can perform for us as well. But it is the same for everybody," Lampard added.
Manchester United had briefly climbed into fourth place with a 5-2 win over Bournemouth earlier on Saturday and Lampard knows his team will be pushed until the end.
"They're a very good team... The fact we're two points ahead of them, we have to be happy," the Englishman said.
"We know they're going to be contesting right until the end because of the form they're in. So respect to United and others around us."
Chelsea have 57 points from 33 games, two ahead of United, who are on a 15-game unbeaten run.
REUTERS
