Lampard: try and catch us

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has called on his side's Premiership challengers to try and catch them if they possibly can. Chelsea have enjoyed a good start to the year and are already ahead of Man Utd.

He said: "It’s a nice gap for us, particularly over United and despite them having a game in hand. It’s not over by a long way. But for the past two years it has been the other way around, with us trying to close the gap on United. It’s not easy.

"Then you’re in the situation of chasing someone, you really can’t afford to lose games.

"It’s certainly easier when you’re setting the pace. Then you’ve a bit of security behind you and the points in the bag.

"It’s not so easy to chase, because the pressure is always building. If you drop points, you fall further behind. And you certainly don’t want to fall too far behind, even at this stage of the season.