Chelsea told to ‘embrace pressure’

London – Frank Lampard told Chelsea to embrace the pressure of the race for a place in the Champions League next season after his side edged two points back in front of Manchester United and into the top four with a comfortable 3-0 win over Watford on Saturday.

After a bitterly disappointing 3-2 defeat at struggling West Ham in midweek, in-form United’s 5-2 thrashing of Bournemouth earlier in the day saw Chelsea slip outside the top four before kick-off.

But there was never any doubt the Blues would move back into fourth as goals from Olivier Giroud, Willian and Ross Barkley (left) capped a dominant display and left the Hornets still precariously placed just one point outside the relegation zone.

“We had the chance to go third on Wednesday. Today there was pressure on us just to get back into fourth. That’s the pressure we have to get used to,” said Lampard. “It was a comfortable evening for us.”

The pressure is certainly on Lampard to deliver Champions League football next season after the club already invested nearly £100 million in signing Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.

There was no improvement in Watford’s performance as they have taken just one point from four games since the restart.

“Of course we are concerned with the situation we are in, we are not naive, but the most important thing is to recognise what we are and make sure our performances reflect that collective spirit,” commented their manager Nigel Pearson.