Ancelotti: Lampard did well

Blues boss pays tribute to calm midfielder

Last updated: 16th December 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Ancelotti: Lampard did well

Lampard: Winning penalty

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Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti praised midfielder Frank Lampard for scoring the penalty that earned their 2-1 win over Portsmouth.

Lampard, who missed his last penalty against Manchester City, kept his cool and fired home after Branislav Ivanovic had been fouled by Marc Wilson.

Nicolas Anelka had given the Blues a first-half lead and despite constantly attacking the Pompey defence, Frederic Piquionne levelled for the visitors early in the second half.

But Lampard eventually secured the three points with his penalty and Ancelotti admits he always had faith in the 31-year-old.

"I have trust in Frank because he shoots penalties very well," said Ancelotti. "He missed a penalty at Manchester City but he's the best penalty taker for us.

Composure

"It was a very good penalty tonight because it was not easy. There was a lot of pressure on that penalty. He did very well."

Chelsea once again lost their way after Pompey equalised, and the Italian admits that confidence has caused some problems for the Blues.

"We lost our composure for 15 minutes and, for that period, it was difficult," added the Italian.

"But we deserved to win the game. I don't know why we're losing that composure.

"After four games without a victory, and when Portsmouth equalised, we didn't have confidence that we would win the game.

Difficult game

"Probably that was because we didn't win in the last four games. It is a moment - it was important to return to winning ways. We did that. We did a good job, not a beautiful job.

"I'm happy because it was becoming a difficult game after they'd equalised. We had 15 minutes in the second half which were no good. We lost our composure.

"But, then, we had a very good reaction. We changed something on the pitch, put fresh players on, and had a very good reaction until the end of the game.

"We deserved to win, but that was the most important thing after four games without a victory. The first aim was always to win.

"The players are not suffering from nerves, no. They are not nervous. In this case, we can do better. We have a lot of players with strong personalities. Communication in this case is the most important thing."