Lampard´s Chelsea faith bolstered by Spurs draw

Chelsea’s Frank Lampard is convinced the English champions can retain their Premier League title if they reproduce the same level of performance as they did in their draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

England midfielder Lampard returned from three-and-a-half months out injured in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with their London rivals at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Lampard, 32, was on the field for the final 12 minutes of a game the Blues would have won had not Didier Drogba seen his stoppage-time penalty blocked by Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes – a save that prevented Chelsea from regaining top spot in the table.

Although the result meant Chelsea had gone winless from their last five league matches, the result left Carlo Ancelotti’s side just a point behind leaders Arsenal.

And a buoyed Lampard, speaking to Chelsea TV on Monday, said: “If we play with the spirit we played, I have no doubt we’ll win the league, because we’ve got the quality in our team.

“Injuries have been tough on us, certain moments have been tough on us.

“But with the spirit and ability we’ve got in our team, if we play like that, I’ve got all confidence that we can do it.

“It’s very tough. We have to fight on a few fronts.

“Man City are there now; Man United, Arsenal as we know; teams like Tottenham are pushing behind.

“So we have to be at our best. But I think if we are at our best then I think we can go and win it.”

Penalty specialist Lampard added he would be practising spot-kicks after deciding to let Drogba do the honours against Tottenham.

“I trained two days with the lads this week and haven’t practised a penalty in three months,” said Lampard.

“I always like to practise them and I thought it would’ve been wrong for me to come on and try to take personal glory scoring a winner on my return rather than Didi take it, who’s been fit and playing and practising and scoring them.

“Listen, I could easily say I would’ve buried it but that’s not the case always – we can all miss them – and credit for Didier for stepping up.

“Hopefully, I can practise some in the week and get back on them.”