Alonso's praise for Lampard

Last updated : 26 April 2005 By Al Campbell
Despite having his ankle broken after a poor challenge by Lampard, Alonso holds no grudges and is looking forward to facing the England midfielder tomorrow night.

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."