Chelsea and Frank Lampard channeling emotion and history for Liverpool

Chelsea is looking to rebound from the Valencia defeat as they host Liverpool. Lampard is already channeling emotion and history within the squad.

The loss against Valencia seems to have hurt the players more than any loss in recent memory. But they are not distraught at the defeat; they are angry. And despite European champions Liverpool being the next opponent, the Blues are hungry to prove themselves.

Ross Barkley, who was on the wrong end of a made up fight over a penalty, rightly mentions that Chelsea has already gone toe to toe with Liverpool this season. Tammy Abraham, who also unfortunately knows the sting of missing a penalty this season, is aiming to take the anger of the Valencia loss out on Liverpool.

It would be facetious to say this desire is solely down to Frank Lampard. But few others would understand the history of matches against Liverpool. Lampard only needs to channel the emotion of the loss against Valencia and history against Liverpool into something productive.

Chelsea versus Liverpool is not necessarily a rivalry in the traditional sense but the two sides will know each other well from several heated matches in recent years. There is the ghost goal all the way back in 2005. The two met in the Champions League knockout rounds in three hotly contested years in a row which included Lampard’s special penalty (which he states really solidified his connection to Chelsea). Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea took the FA Cup from Liverpool on the eve of the Champions League victory. Jose Mourinho’s tactical masterclass that forced Liverpool to slip up in pursuit of the title. There was the crushing Halloween loss that really marked the beginning of the end for Mourinho at Chelsea. And most recently, the Super Cup loss.

That is a lot of emotion packed into a fixture against a nontraditional rival. Only Barcelona and perhaps Manchester United can really claim to have a more heated history with Chelsea. It is now Lampard’s job to channel all of that into this next fixture against Liverpool.

The players are already hungry after the Valencia loss. And it has been quite some time since Chelsea players felt the need to take a loss out on whoever came next. But the players care more than ever now and Lampard can use that as his greatest tool against Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp has rebuilt Liverpool in a way that Lampard would love to do at Chelsea. The two are very much kindred spirits. And while Lampard and the Chelsea side may admire Liverpool, they will give them no quarter.

Liverpool has been flying high this season (though their recent loss to Napoli may have clipped their wings somewhat). But the one team they struggled against thus far was Chelsea. The Blues will know that as they host Klopp’s juggernaut at the Bridge. And if Lampard can effectively channel the emotion after Valencia and the history of the fixture, the Blues will take full advantage of the crack Napoli put into Liverpool’s facade.

It will not be easy but that is okay. This match is poised to be heated and personal and like the historic matches of the past, it may come down to something intangible rather than tactical at the end of the day.