Lampard speaks of his pride at beating ‘the best team in the land’

Frank Lampard has reacted to Chelsea‘s 2-0 victory over Liverpool to make it to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Willian opened the scoring for the Blues after 13th minute and Ross Barkley doubled their lead midway through the first half.

Both managers made changes for the cup, with Jurgen Klopp bringing in the likes of Adrian, Neco Williams, Curtis Jones and Takumi Minamo for the visiting Reds while Lampard made the big shout of handing a start for highly-rated 18-year-old rising star Billy Gilmour in midfield.

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“Really proud,” the Chelsea boss said, speaking to the BBC after the match.

“They’re the best team in the land. Them and Man City have proven that in the last two years. But this year what they’re doing in the league is incredible.

“So for us to put in the effort, the focus, the determination, the quality that we put into the game was something special. But it’s a one-off, we know there’s a lot of work to do and a long way to go to get to where we want to be.

“But you have to celebrate those moments. Particularly the second, because you know how dangerous Liverpool are to the last minutes, so to go two up was great.”

Chelsea have joined Newcastle and Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, with Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City and Leicester aiming to join them in the coming days.

The hosts saw their midfield options depleted as the game progressed, with Mateo Kovacic and Willian both forced off through injury, with N’Golo Kante already sidelined.

Gilmour, in particular, received rave reviews from the pundits on Match Of The Day, with Alan Shearer suggesting that the teenager “bossed” the game from the centre of the pitch.

“What an incredible performance for a young player,” Lampard added.

“Against, again, the best team. When things are happening quickly around you, he was a calm head in that first five, ten minutes. Straight away you could see he’s got quality on the ball, he wants the ball.

“He’s a throwback to the days of midfielders as I grew up. Can you put your foot in? Yes. Can you make angles always to get the ball? Yes. Can you make the right pass and pick the simple one at the right time? Yes. He’s got all that.

“People might look at him and see that he’s quite slight. But he’s huge in personality. I’m absolutely delighted for him, he deserves man of the match, he deserves for people to be talking about him. Delighted for him and his family, because it’s a big day for him.”