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‘Lamps’ at the double to see blues off

Frank Lampard provided a timely reminder of his value to Chelsea by scoring twice as his side reclaimed third place in the Premier League by coming from behind to win 2-1 at Everton on Sunday.

The 34-year-old England midfielder, whose contract expires at the end of the season, cancelled out Steven Pienaar’s opener shortly before half-time and then claimed the winner with 18 minutes remaining at Goodison Park.

Victory moved Rafael Benitez’s side above Tottenham Hotspur into third place, four points behind second-place Manchester City and with a game in hand, while Everton remain sixth, three points below the top four.

‘It was very hard. This is always one of the most difficult games of the season,’ said Lampard. ‘We got a (2-0) tanking here last year and we had to stand up for ourselves. We went 1-0 down but after half an hour, we started getting into the game.

‘Once we got a foothold, we got a goal at a good time. It was always going to be very close and we did ride our luck at times.

‘We have to keep believing this season there is a long way to go. We can only win our games then rely on other things.’ Defeat prevented Everton from asserting their Champions League credentials, but they had started the game in menacing fashion and took the lead after just 63 seconds.

Victor Anichebe met stand-in right-back Phil Jagielka’s floated cross with a header that came back off the left-hand post and Pienaar charged in to spear the ball past Petr Cech, who was making his 400th Chelsea appearance.

Nikica Jelavic then hit the same portion of woodwork with a free-kick, before Lampard equalised in the 42nd minute when he met Ramires’ cross with a precisely directed downward header.

Chelsea sealed the winner with Lampard nudging the ball into the roof of the net after Tim Howard saved from Juan Mata, to give the Blues a fourth consecutive league win.

ARSENAL RIDE ON WALCOTT HATTRICK

Theo Walcott sent a message to Arsene Wenger as the Arsenal forward hit a hat-trick in his side’s stunning 7-3 demolition of Newcastle on Saturday. Walcott, out of contract at the end of the season, faces an uncertain future in north London after Arsenal failed to meet his wage demands, while boss Wenger has been reluctant to play the England winger in his preferred central striking role. But Wenger has finally allowed Walcott to start up front in recent weeks and the response from the 23-year-old suggests the Gunners should bow to the player’s demands to avoid losing yet another star name. As well as hitting a hat-trick, he provided two assists against Newcastle as Arsenal, with Olivier Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski also on the scoresheet to keep top four finish alive.


SUAREZ BRACE HELPS REDS BLANK QPR


A Luis Suarez brace in the opening 15 minutes followed by a superb header from Daniel Agger saw Liverpool pile the pressure on QPR who stay rock bottomed. The win helped Liverpool move up to ninth in the Premier League on Sunday. The opener came in the 10th minute when Suarez picked up the ball on the edge of the box to slow the game momentarily before gliding past Clint Hill. Minutes later Suarez added his second goal with a simple tap in after being fed by winger Steven Downing.

Agger then headed the third from a well directed cross from Steven Gerrard.
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