Chelsea: Lampard discusses race for third after win over Norwich
Chelsea boosted their bid for a top four finish with the 1-0 Premier League win over Norwich on Tuesday. The Blues now turn their attention to the FA Cup, with a semi-final clash against Manchester United coming up this weekend.
Chelsea held on to third place in the table after United missed the opportunity to go above them following their 2-2 draw against Southampton on Monday night.
Blues boss Frank Lampard expects the final push for the top four to be tough but insists it will not come down to a test of nerve.
Asked if securing Champions League qualification now comes down to bottle, Lampard replied: "No. I keep talking about mentality, but I don't like the word bottle too much.
"We've got two games now against just two really good opponents, so we've just got to focus on those games one by one.
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"He deserves a lot of credit and just before the lockdown he came in and was part of a couple of big results too," said the Chelsea boss.
"That's probably credit he was due anyway. He's never given me a problem, he's always trained brilliantly. When Tammy (Abraham) was playing really well earlier in the season and regularly staying in the team, his (Giroud) professionalism was always good.
"I told him in January I wanted him to stay, he was fantastic how he handled that and he's continued to show that in the way he trains and the way he plays. He's important for us."
Chelsea remaining fixtures
Chelsea have two Premier League games remaining, facing Liverpool on July 22 before hosting Wolves four days later.
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As mentioned, their next game is the FA Cup semi-final showdown with United at Wembley.
If successful, the Blues would face either Arsenal or Manchester City in the final.
Lampard’s side still have a Champions League fixture to play in August.
They travel to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their last 16 tie, with the German side taking a 3-0 advantage into the game.