Reflecting on our 2-1 defeat to Tottenham, Frank Lampard insisted the side's slow start cost us three points in north London.
The midfield maestro, who began the game as vice-captain but ended it with the armband following John Terry's dismissal, believes their lead was too much to recover from after we conceded twice in the first half.
Chasing a two-goal deficit is never easy but against Tottenham, for Chelsea, it is even harder, explained Lampard: 'The last thing you want to do when you go to White Hart Lane is give them a 1-0 lead at the start, especially in the derby.
'When we went 1-0 down they got their confidence and when the game went to 2-0 it put us under a lot pressure and they are a good side.
'Then the game got messy in the second half and we went down to 10 men.
'But to be fair we had quite a lot of the ball in their box, we just couldn't find that last little pass.'
Needless to say, both players and fans alike were upset with Saturday's match but the result may not have been so hard to swallow, had it not been for a certain Paul Scholes goal.
'It's disappointing, especially with Manchester United's result,' noted Lampard.
'When they scored in the last minute it was hard. If they had drawn the game it would have left us in a very healthy position but now it's tighter.
'We were trying to get back into the game and with the last goal we had a bit of a lift but it's difficult with 10 men.
'But we have to get on with it now, understand it and not dwell on it because if we win our next three games we win the League.'
Touching on Terry's brace of bookings, Lampard was keen to express his leader's desire to succeed and how that sometimes transpires on the pitch.
'He wants to win and he's a fantastic captain,' reports Lampard, 'although for the first yellow I thought he got a slight touch on the ball.
'But when he went into that second tackle, you knew the minute the tackle went in he was going to get sent off.
'When you're playing in such circumstances sometimes these things happen but I don't think the referee gave us much in the game.'
However, Lampard himself gave us something when a stoppage time slide to the far post resulted in our only goal, taking him to 23 for the season.
'It doesn't feel so good given the circumstances of the game,' said Lampard, 'but if it can help us with the goal difference at the end of the season then it's worth it.'
With the League position in mind, Petr Cech, who put in an outstanding performance between the posts, knows Saturday's result has left us in the same position as a couple of weeks ago.
'It is basically the same as before,' said Cech. 'If we had drawn we would be two points clear and we would still have to win every game. Now we have the first game at home to Stoke and we have to win.'
The midfield maestro, who began the game as vice-captain but ended it with the armband following John Terry's dismissal, believes their lead was too much to recover from after we conceded twice in the first half.
Chasing a two-goal deficit is never easy but against Tottenham, for Chelsea, it is even harder, explained Lampard: 'The last thing you want to do when you go to White Hart Lane is give them a 1-0 lead at the start, especially in the derby.
'When we went 1-0 down they got their confidence and when the game went to 2-0 it put us under a lot pressure and they are a good side.
'Then the game got messy in the second half and we went down to 10 men.
'But to be fair we had quite a lot of the ball in their box, we just couldn't find that last little pass.'
Needless to say, both players and fans alike were upset with Saturday's match but the result may not have been so hard to swallow, had it not been for a certain Paul Scholes goal.
'It's disappointing, especially with Manchester United's result,' noted Lampard.
'When they scored in the last minute it was hard. If they had drawn the game it would have left us in a very healthy position but now it's tighter.
'We were trying to get back into the game and with the last goal we had a bit of a lift but it's difficult with 10 men.
'But we have to get on with it now, understand it and not dwell on it because if we win our next three games we win the League.'
Touching on Terry's brace of bookings, Lampard was keen to express his leader's desire to succeed and how that sometimes transpires on the pitch.
'He wants to win and he's a fantastic captain,' reports Lampard, 'although for the first yellow I thought he got a slight touch on the ball.
'But when he went into that second tackle, you knew the minute the tackle went in he was going to get sent off.
'When you're playing in such circumstances sometimes these things happen but I don't think the referee gave us much in the game.'
However, Lampard himself gave us something when a stoppage time slide to the far post resulted in our only goal, taking him to 23 for the season.
'It doesn't feel so good given the circumstances of the game,' said Lampard, 'but if it can help us with the goal difference at the end of the season then it's worth it.'
With the League position in mind, Petr Cech, who put in an outstanding performance between the posts, knows Saturday's result has left us in the same position as a couple of weeks ago.
'It is basically the same as before,' said Cech. 'If we had drawn we would be two points clear and we would still have to win every game. Now we have the first game at home to Stoke and we have to win.'
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