Give Chelsea credit: Lampard

FRANK LAMPARD and his team-mates left Anfield on Wednesday night with the Kop in full chorus but the chants of “boring, boring Chelsea” cut no ice with the England midfielder.

“Who were they chanting at - us or Liverpool?” he joked.

“Maybe it becomes more boring when you keep winning, maybe that’s it. The fact we have won every game, our goal tally is better than anyone, the goals conceded record is better than anyone, speaks volumes.

“Our defensive record is a credit to the whole team. Especially the back four and the ’keeper, but the whole team has worked very hard not to concede and people should not discredit us for that, they should applaud.”

Chelsea’s goalless draw was their second in three games with the Reds and the Premiership champions were fortunate that Italian referee Massimo De Santis saw fit to ignore penalty appeals when Sami Hyypia was felled by Didier Drogba in the first half and when William Gallas clearly handled a Jamie Carragher header in the second.

But while Lampard admits Liverpool may have had a case with the handball, he believes that luck evened itself after what happened in their Champions League semi-final last May when Luis Garcia’s winner was controversially adjudged to have crossed the line.

Lampard said: “I think there was a potential handball but we were unlucky to concede a goal that never was last time.”

Chelsea also collected a cluster of bookings, one for Lampard himself, and the player apportioned part of the blame on the use of foreign officials for an all-English encounter.

He added: “I think when you play an all-English game in the Champions League with a referee from a foreign country, maybe we play at a different pace with stronger challenges. Maybe it didn’t need so many bookings.”

Lampard also believes Peter Crouch deserves an England call-up from Sven-Goran Eriksson because he will bring something “fresh and different” to the national side.

Liverpool’s striker was a handful for Chelsea’s defence and Lampard was full of praise for the way Crouch caused them problems with his height and ability to hold the ball up in front of the watching Swede.

Crouch is almost certain be selected by Eriksson when he names his squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Poland and Austria.

Lampard added: “It was a tough game. They put a lot of balls into Crouch which made it hard. Every team gives you different problems and at Liverpool it was Crouch. He will be pushing for an England place for sure. He is fresh and different. He played well [on Wednesday] and is someone we can use.”