Thursday, October 19, 2006
Drogba is best in Europe - Lampard
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard claims there is no hotter striker in Europe at the moment than Blues striker Didier Drogba.
Drogba grabbed his ninth goal of the season on Wednesday night to condemn Barcelona to their first European defeat in 19 months.
The Ivory Coast international has been in fearsome form since the start of the new campaign.
He fired a hat-trick on his previous Champions League outing, away to Levski Sofia, and scored one of the Premiership's best goals of the season with a ferocious volley against Liverpool last month.
Lampard, 28, said: "He's a fantastic striker anyway but at the moment he's in one of those really hot spells.
"If he's not the best striker in Europe, I don't know where there's a better one.
"His all-round game is fantastic. He's scoring spectacular goals. That's Didi and it's great to have a striker playing like that."
Chelsea fans expected to be watching Europe's best striker this season after the club spent more than £30million on Andriy Shevchenko but they did not think it would be Drogba.
The big Ivorian, signed from Marseille for £24million in 2004, seemed ready to quit the club when Shevchenko arrived. Last season he suffered some criticism from Chelsea fans for diving but has responded in style.
Shevchenko has struggled to find top gear but Drogba has cut down on the diving and is enjoying his best form since moving to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard said: "That's what happens when you're a striker. You have to go through the highs and the lows and Didi's on a high.
"You've got the other end of the scale with Shevchenko, who is a world-class striker for years and, at the moment, he can't get his goals."
Drogba's winner against Barcelona came in the 47th minute, when he collected a long pass from Ashley Cole, turned past Carles Puyol on the edge of the penalty box and slammed a right-foot shot into the corner of the net.
Drogba, 28, said: "We won against a big team who played very well but Chelsea played very well and now we have nine points. That's the most important thing.
"My goal gave me a better feeling than the one I scored against Liverpool but I have to say I was a bit lucky with the first touch."
Asked if he has ever played better than he is doing at the moment, Drogba replied: "Yes, I think I have, when I was in Marseille."
Victory over Barcelona was sweet for Chelsea, who were knocked out of the Champions League by the Catalans last season.
Mourinho's team top now Group A with a maximum nine points from three games and have put European Cup holders Barcelona under pressure. The rivals meet again in Spain in a fortnight.
Lampard said: "The onus is on them to beat us at the Nou Camp which I'm sure they will try to do.
"But there are too many strong teams throughout the competition to worry about putting them out.
"It's not a question of putting anyone out at the moment. It's a question of worrying about ourselves and trying to top the group.
"We know we're in a strong position but we're not there yet. It's two big away games for us now with Barcelona and Werder Bremen.
"Ideally we will get a win from one of them games, or not get beaten, and establish ourselves as the top team in the group."
The Barcelona result has been good therapy in a traumatic week for the club.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech fractured his skull during Saturday's 1-0 win over Reading and is still in hospital after emergency surgery.
Third-string goalkeeper Hilario played against Barca because Carlo Cudicini was knocked unconscious and swallowed his tongue, after coming on as a substitute for Cech at Reading.
Lampard said: "It's been a difficult time for the lads with the injury to Petr. I don't think anyone in the team has been through an injury like Petr had. It was such a freak injury.
"But I think it gave an extra dimension to our game. There was a lot of spirit among the lads and we wanted to win the game, not exactly for Petr but with Petr in mind.
"We've always had durability and spirit in the team and any top team has to have that, especially when you play a team of Barcelona's ability.
"You have to be strong and together throughout the game and we showed that in what was a top performance. You could see at the end what it meant to the team."
Chelsea staff and players have also been saddened by the death of Victoria Buchanan in a road accident on Tuesday.
Drogba dedicated his goal to the 28-year-old, who worked at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea Pitch Owners.
The Ivory Coast international has been in fearsome form since the start of the new campaign.
He fired a hat-trick on his previous Champions League outing, away to Levski Sofia, and scored one of the Premiership's best goals of the season with a ferocious volley against Liverpool last month.
Lampard, 28, said: "He's a fantastic striker anyway but at the moment he's in one of those really hot spells.
"If he's not the best striker in Europe, I don't know where there's a better one.
"His all-round game is fantastic. He's scoring spectacular goals. That's Didi and it's great to have a striker playing like that."
Chelsea fans expected to be watching Europe's best striker this season after the club spent more than £30million on Andriy Shevchenko but they did not think it would be Drogba.
The big Ivorian, signed from Marseille for £24million in 2004, seemed ready to quit the club when Shevchenko arrived. Last season he suffered some criticism from Chelsea fans for diving but has responded in style.
Shevchenko has struggled to find top gear but Drogba has cut down on the diving and is enjoying his best form since moving to Stamford Bridge.
Lampard said: "That's what happens when you're a striker. You have to go through the highs and the lows and Didi's on a high.
"You've got the other end of the scale with Shevchenko, who is a world-class striker for years and, at the moment, he can't get his goals."
Drogba's winner against Barcelona came in the 47th minute, when he collected a long pass from Ashley Cole, turned past Carles Puyol on the edge of the penalty box and slammed a right-foot shot into the corner of the net.
Drogba, 28, said: "We won against a big team who played very well but Chelsea played very well and now we have nine points. That's the most important thing.
"My goal gave me a better feeling than the one I scored against Liverpool but I have to say I was a bit lucky with the first touch."
Asked if he has ever played better than he is doing at the moment, Drogba replied: "Yes, I think I have, when I was in Marseille."
Victory over Barcelona was sweet for Chelsea, who were knocked out of the Champions League by the Catalans last season.
Mourinho's team top now Group A with a maximum nine points from three games and have put European Cup holders Barcelona under pressure. The rivals meet again in Spain in a fortnight.
Lampard said: "The onus is on them to beat us at the Nou Camp which I'm sure they will try to do.
"But there are too many strong teams throughout the competition to worry about putting them out.
"It's not a question of putting anyone out at the moment. It's a question of worrying about ourselves and trying to top the group.
"We know we're in a strong position but we're not there yet. It's two big away games for us now with Barcelona and Werder Bremen.
"Ideally we will get a win from one of them games, or not get beaten, and establish ourselves as the top team in the group."
The Barcelona result has been good therapy in a traumatic week for the club.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech fractured his skull during Saturday's 1-0 win over Reading and is still in hospital after emergency surgery.
Third-string goalkeeper Hilario played against Barca because Carlo Cudicini was knocked unconscious and swallowed his tongue, after coming on as a substitute for Cech at Reading.
Lampard said: "It's been a difficult time for the lads with the injury to Petr. I don't think anyone in the team has been through an injury like Petr had. It was such a freak injury.
"But I think it gave an extra dimension to our game. There was a lot of spirit among the lads and we wanted to win the game, not exactly for Petr but with Petr in mind.
"We've always had durability and spirit in the team and any top team has to have that, especially when you play a team of Barcelona's ability.
"You have to be strong and together throughout the game and we showed that in what was a top performance. You could see at the end what it meant to the team."
Chelsea staff and players have also been saddened by the death of Victoria Buchanan in a road accident on Tuesday.
Drogba dedicated his goal to the 28-year-old, who worked at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea Pitch Owners.
# posted by mojtaba @ 10:25 PM 
