Frank Lampard has set his sights on Chelsea's title showdown with Manchester United after the Blues demolished Aston Villa.
Lampard scored four times in the 7-1 romp at Stamford Bridge to set up an enthralling clash at Old Trafford on Easter Saturday.
The Red Devils still hold a one-point advantage over their rivals following their 4-0 win at Bolton, while Arsenal have slipped four points behind the leaders after being held 1-1 at Birmingham.
Chelsea enjoyed a 1-0 success over Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning champions on home turf back in November and Lampard feels that triumph, coupled with their victories this season over the Gunners and Liverpool, proves they can claim top spot.
Lampard told reporters: "We know the quality of the players we have, we've shown that over the course of the season.
"We've beaten Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal playing different formations.
"Now we have to focus on what we have to do - we look forward to going to Old Trafford."
Lampard felt obliged to make peace with the West London club's fans after their UEFA Champions League exit and the disappointments of the shock home defeat by Manchester City and recent draw at Blackburn.
The England midfielder, who has now hit at least 20 goals in six successive seasons and has moved up to third in Chelsea's all-time scorers list, believed the rout of top-four hopefuls Villa was one of their finest he has been involved in.
He added: "We've had a few poor performances recently and we have to apologise to the fans for that.
"But hopefully this makes up for those and now we can concentrate on what we know we have to do because if we win all our remaining matches, we will be champions.
"We have to forget the little rut we have had and concentrate on the target.
"It's up there with our best performances. There was a 6-0 against Manchester City and then a 2-0 against Villa last season, when it could have been six or seven.
"This is right up there because we were playing a very good team. They've got good players throughout their team so when you do that to them, well, you can't say enough about the performance."
Lampard scored four times in the 7-1 romp at Stamford Bridge to set up an enthralling clash at Old Trafford on Easter Saturday.
The Red Devils still hold a one-point advantage over their rivals following their 4-0 win at Bolton, while Arsenal have slipped four points behind the leaders after being held 1-1 at Birmingham.
Chelsea enjoyed a 1-0 success over Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning champions on home turf back in November and Lampard feels that triumph, coupled with their victories this season over the Gunners and Liverpool, proves they can claim top spot.
Lampard told reporters: "We know the quality of the players we have, we've shown that over the course of the season.
"We've beaten Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal playing different formations.
"Now we have to focus on what we have to do - we look forward to going to Old Trafford."
Lampard felt obliged to make peace with the West London club's fans after their UEFA Champions League exit and the disappointments of the shock home defeat by Manchester City and recent draw at Blackburn.
The England midfielder, who has now hit at least 20 goals in six successive seasons and has moved up to third in Chelsea's all-time scorers list, believed the rout of top-four hopefuls Villa was one of their finest he has been involved in.
He added: "We've had a few poor performances recently and we have to apologise to the fans for that.
"But hopefully this makes up for those and now we can concentrate on what we know we have to do because if we win all our remaining matches, we will be champions.
"We have to forget the little rut we have had and concentrate on the target.
"It's up there with our best performances. There was a 6-0 against Manchester City and then a 2-0 against Villa last season, when it could have been six or seven.
"This is right up there because we were playing a very good team. They've got good players throughout their team so when you do that to them, well, you can't say enough about the performance."
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