Frank Lampard praised the team’s application and desire after his two goals fired us to victory at Everton on Sunday.
The midfielder struck in either half as we fought back from going behind after a minute to take all three points and climb back into third place in the Barclays Premier League, but afterwards preferred to focus on the collective effort.
‘In the first 20 minutes we weren’t reacting and we let them play to their strengths,’ Lampard said. ‘This was always a difficult game with the way they’re playing this season. The lads dug in and we got a bit of luck along the way but you make your own luck and I think we deserved to win it through that.
‘I think probably after half an hour we started to get into the game. They certainly dominated and we could have been more than one down but we got a foothold and knocked the ball about and got a goal at a good time, and I always felt we could score on the counter-attack. It was always going to be close because they keep sticking balls into the box and we rode our luck at times but we held on.
‘I loved coming and playing up here at Christmas time and contributing to bring us back in it and score the winner, but the team performance and the way the lads worked deserves the most credit today.
‘This is always one of the most difficult games of the season. The atmosphere in the crowd and how they pressurise you, they bullied us last year and this year we had to stand up for ourselves. Going 1-0 down takes a massive effort to win the game.’
The win lifts us to within four points of second-placed Manchester City, with a game in hand, and Lampard says we must keep our confidence that we can fight our way back into the title race.
‘We have to keep believing. There is a long way to go and things have changed around,’ he said. ‘It can only happen if we win our games but if we go on performing like we have done in the last few league games and keep doing that, it’s all we can do. We need to keep this form and this attitude.’
On a personal note, the stand-in captain also thanked the Chelsea fans for the support they have shown him recently.
‘The fans have been amazing and from the minute I came here they have been behind me. I’ve got Chelsea in me for life. They back their team here, they back all their players and I can’t thank them enough,’ he said.