Frank Lampard greeted Chelsea's "character and personality" when they reached the FA Cup final with a 3-1 victory over the pitiful Manchester United on Sunday. Lampard's team received their goals with a buggy display from United goalkeeper David De Gea, but Chelsea was a deserved winner as they dominated the semifinal from start to finish. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring at the end of the first half and Mason Mount got the second after the interval at Wembley. Harry Maguire's goal ended United before Bruno Fernandes' late penalty.
After some shaky performances in recent weeks, including a 3-0 shot at Sheffield United, Lampard was impressed with the energetic way in which his players beat United in form at Wembley.
"I can't ask for more from my players than that. The work ethic and the level of performance. We were on top and when they changed their system, we were even better," Lampard told the BBC.
"Where we are, it is going to happen that we have some bad displays like against Sheffield United. But to do it against Manchester United, I am delighted and very proud."
"A lot of work was done in the last two days to change the system, and you're only as good as your players in that situation. They deserve a lot of credit."
"They should trust that exhibition. We have leaders, they cannot be compared between times, but we have leaders in the team. It was a performance full of character and personality."
Chelsea's victory brought Lampard one step closer to the silverware in his first season in charge of the club where he gained legendary status as a player.
Ahead of their FA Cup final date with Arsenal rival London on August 1, Chelsea must focus on qualifying for the Champions League through a top-four result in the Premier League.
They sit third, one point above Leicester and United, with games against Liverpool and Wolves to end the league season.
"We have finals ahead. Two in the league and then Arsenal," Lampard said.
"We want to win things, and at the beginning of the season we wanted to be up there challenging the top four."
From NDTV Sports
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