Chelsea Football Club News

• Nickname:Blues
• Founded:1905
• Manager:Roberto Di Matteo

• Ground:Stamford Bridge
• Capacity:42,440

Grant revels in Blues win

27 Apr 2008 - 11:32:10

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Chelsea boss Avram Grant was full of praise for his players after they kept the Premier League title race alive with a 2-1 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Two goals from Michael Ballack, the second from the penalty spot with just four minutes left to play, moved the Blues level on points with the Red Devils with just two games to play.

Grant said: "I am optimistic, but we need to win our last two games and hope Manchester lose one point. If you come to this stage and you are not optimistic you should not be in sport.

"My players were very competitive, they wanted to win. When you concede a goal like we did it is a little bit disappointing, but we were full of energy.

"We did what we had to do. We deserved to win and more than 2-1. I am happy with the result and the way we did it. I enjoy winning games and I enjoyed the spirit and courage of the players."

Meanwhile Grant also took time out to speak of Frank Lampard, who missed the game following the death of his mother, Pat, earlier in the week.

"The players have a lot of sympathy for Frank, you saw that after the first goal," Grant added. "We are a big, big family, the staff and the players and what has happened to Frank makes all of us very sad.

"From me I send my sympathy to the family from everyone here. We will leave the decision about Wednesday to him. I will respect any decision he makes.

"Football is exciting, but there are things that are more important. I say to the players that on the way to excellency you need to be human, so I think we need to respect what has happened to him."