Source: Daily_Mail
Terry rallying call as skipper tells his Chelsea troops to turn up heat on rivals
Head and shoulders above the rest: John Terry (left)[LNB]Chelsea captain John Terry has urged his team-mates to put more pressure on their Barclays Premier League title rivals with victory over Burnley on Saturday.[LNB]The Chelsea defender celebrated his 300th career league game by leading the Blues to a 3-0 victory over Birmingham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.[LNB]An early goal from Florent Malouda and a brace from Frank Lampard put Chelsea back on top of the table and ended Birmingham's 15-game unbeaten run.[LNB]Carlo Ancelotti's side are now one point ahead of Manchester United with a game in hand on their rivals.[LNB]United face third-placed Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday and Terryknows a win for the Blues at Turf Moor the previous evening willincrease the pressure on the chasing pair.[LNB] 'At Burnley on Saturday we have to win where Manchester United have lost and Arsenal have drawn,' said Terry. [LNB]'When we play Arsenal at home in February wins against Burnley and Hull, if we can achieve them, would have opened a healthy gap for us. But to achieve that, it's got to be champion form.'[LNB]Meanwhile, Ancelotti labelled Lampard as one of the best midfielders in the world after his two goals against Birmingham.[LNB]Lampard scored Chelsea's second in the 31st minute with a 20-yard drive and completed the scoring in the dying seconds when he drilled the ball beyond City keeper Joe Hart.[LNB]'We use all the pitch to attack and so Frank is able to run into the box to score,' said Ancelotti. 'I think he's the best running midfielder in the world. [LNB] Going up: Lampard celebrates scoring his second goal against Birmingham[LNB]'He has this fantastic quality to time his run into the box. It's good we are back at the top. We have one more point with a game in hand on United and two points more than Arsenal.[LNB]'That's important because, on Sunday United play Arsenal. Maybe we can improve our position on Saturday.'[LNB]Birmingham manager Alex McLeish admitted City paid the penalty for a poor start after Malouda headed Chelsea in front in the fifth minute.[LNB]But McLeish believes his side have the character to bounce back from the setback.[LNB]'We shot ourselves in the foot with a bad start,' said McLeish. 'It was most unlike us. We were caught flat-footed and that first goal was too easy. [LNB]'We're playing against a world-class side there.[LNB]'I don't think anyone has won here this season and they've battered better teams than us.[LNB] World-class: Chelsea swept in-form Birmingham aside[LNB]'We had chances at 2-0 and it would have been interesting had we got the goal back, but we never took the opportunities.[LNB]'I'm not disappointed with the players at all. They deserve tremendous credit for the run they have been on and they have the character to bounce back.[LNB]'Chelsea are a good side. They have the foreign flavour, the keep-ball and movement is excellent.[LNB]'They are one of the favourites for the Champions League, let alone the Premier League. We have kept the ball better than that and were wasteful in possession, but I'll forgive the players this one. There's no disgrace losing here.'[LNB]The City boss is also hoping to land a couple of new strikers before the transfer window closes.[LNB]'I've given the board a couple of names, and I'm hoping they'll get something done for us,' added McLeish. [LNB] Chelsea 3 Birmingham 0: Carlo trades in diamond and hits the jackpotMan City launch Johnson swoop in bid to beat Chelsea for Middlesbrough ace Chelsea hope to snap up Barcelona's 18-year-old midfielder Thiago AlcantaraChelsea bid £70m for Raul, claims the Real Madrid captain's agentOnly 'world class' Rooney can make United pip us to the title, says Carlo BIRMINGHAM CITY FC
