By Redsfan
April 26 2005

Xabi Alonso believes that stopping Frank Lampard bossing the midfield during tomorrow night’s CL semi final could be an important part of beating Chelsea. Classy midfielder Alonso is full of respect for Lampard and holds no grudges for the tackle that broke Alonso’s ankle on New Years day.

He said: "Frank Lampard is having a great season at Chelsea so it's important we stop him playing well. He has a wonderful ability to break forward quickly from midfield, scoring and making many goals for his team.

"To stop him we need to look after the ball when we are in possession and win as many loose balls in midfield as we can.

"I will be trying to make sure Lampard doesn't get control of the ball too much. When he does get hold of it I will make life as uncomfortable for him as I possibly can. If we don't do that in the middle of the pitch then we know he can hurt us.

"Fortunately, we have a player in the same mould as Lampard, in the shape of Steven Gerrard. At the moment I can't say who is best out of Gerrard and Lampard, but one thing is for sure, they are two of the best players in the world. England are lucky to have them."