Lampard lit up for Liverpool tie

By Guillem Balague

Chelsea FC midfield player Frank Lampard insists that Liverpool FC will have to be at their best to avoid a heavy defeat in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge tonight.

Worrying form
The 26-year-old English international has scored 19 goals in all competitions for club and country this season, including four in the Champions League, and has been in towering form for José Mourinho's side. And with Chelsea having put four past FC Barcelona and FC Bayern München in their last two European home games, Liverpool have reason to be worried.

Four each
"We have just scored four goals against Barcelona and Bayern here, so they will have to be very organised and strong defensively," Lampard told uefa.com. However, he did not believe that the Reds would resort to 'ugly football', saying: "They would be putting themselves down if they thought that way."

Decisive advantage
Chelsea will be looking to secure a decisive advantage, with Lampard well aware what Liverpool can do at Anfield. "They do not play much possession football, but their game is fast and they can hurt you that way," he said. "They will not want to lose the game here and will want to decide it at their place."

Liverpool successes
In their first season under Mourinho, Chelsea have won the English League Cup - defeating Liverpool in the final - and have also overcome Rafael Benítez's team twice in the Premiership, building up a huge lead at the top of the table which may see them crowned champions this weekend.

Added impetus
However, Lampard says all those previous triumphs will count for little when Liverpool take the field at Stamford Bridge. "In fact, I think it adds to their determination to beat us," he said. "All the games [against Liverpool] were very tight, although at least in two of them we deserved to win. The fact we know each other so well is going to affect the tie too. They have played very tight when they play away in Europe, so that could be their attitude at Stamford Bridge."

Unfortunate tackle
When Chelsea won 1-0 at Liverpool on 1 January, Lampard put in a challenge on Xabi Alonso which led to the Spaniard being carried off on a stretcher with a broken ankle. "I felt very bad," Lampard said. "It wasn't a stupid tackle or a very bad one, but I was gutted.

Friendly meeting
"I rang him and I spoke to him," he added. "I wanted to apologise. The nice thing was that I met him at the League Cup final. He approached me and asked me how I was doing. I was impressed by that. I have a lot of respect for him as a person and a player. The fact he is playing makes them much stronger now."

Anfield facelift
Like Chelsea, Liverpool have undergone a major makeover since the summer with the arrival of former Valencia CF coach Benítez and a number of players from the Primera División. Lampard has been impressed by the way the new man has gone about his business at Anfield.

Big occasions
"He came into a very difficult job and now you can see his hand," said Lampard. "They are strange - very inconsistent in the league but in Europe they are a team nobody wants to play against. Benítez gets good performances out of them when it really matters."

An extended interview with Frank Lampard will appear in the next issue of Champions, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League.