Losing no option for Lampard

Nothing brings greater motivation than the taste of defeat according to Chelsea FC midfielder Frank Lampard. And having lost twice to Liverpool FC in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in the last four seasons, there will be no shortage of desire on Tuesday when the English teams square off once more. Lampard was also in the Chelsea side beaten by AC Monaco FC in the semi-finals in 2004, and having got this far again, is determined not to let his chance slip by.

'Very disappointing'
"The best thing you can take is that feeling of losing at the end, because that is the worst feeling you can have," Lampard said after scoring Chelsea's second goal in their 2-0 second-leg victory over Fenerbahçe SK in the quarter-finals. "To lose a semi-final is very disappointing but the more experience you get, the more you realise there will be bad nights – you can't win everything. The most important thing is to try and learn from them and correct it in the future and hopefully we will get a chance to do that."

'No revenge'
Chelsea were defeated 1-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in 2005, then crashed out of the competition on penalties at Anfield last season despite winning the first leg 1-0. Lampard, though, who returns to action after missing Chelsea's last two Premier League matches because of illness to his mother, insists the Londoners will not be out for revenge. "The last two times we played them will have no bearing whatsoever on this time. Going into a game with revenge on your mind is probably not the right emotion to take into a game. The Champions League is very much about keeping your head and concentrating for the whole 90 minutes of both legs, so I don't think it is about revenge. I think it is about the golden carrot of getting to the final.

'Concentrate'
"The three [semi-final] defeats and being so close makes it a little bit more frustrating every time, but I'm sure Liverpool will have the same kind of motivation to get to the final. Playing Liverpool, you know how they are going to play – they are a very organised team. They have a very good recipe in Champions League football because they are very organised and they have a big threat going forward. It hasn't worked so well for them in the league but in the Champions League it has been very impressive, so we have to make sure we concentrate and don't switch off for any minute."

Home advantage
Unlike the previous two semi-finals between the clubs, Chelsea will be playing the second leg at home. The Blues have not lost at Stamford Bridge in 65 fixtures since FC Barcelona beat them 2-1 in the first knockout round on 22 February 2006 – and Lampard believes their supporters could give his side the edge in the return match. "One of the reasons we've had a fortress here for so long is the backing of the fans and the belief they always have in us, even if we are down in a game or struggling a little bit. It will be important that we create our atmosphere here because on big nights those things can give you slight edges."

'Positive attitude'
Home advantage on 30 April, however, is only likely to make a difference should Chelsea perform well at Anfield. "It only helps if you get the right result there," the 29-year-old England international said. "If you give yourself a mountain to climb it won't help, and in the modern-day Champions League the away goal seems to become even more important, so we have to go there with a positive attitude and try and get an away goal."

Spirit and togetherness
The other difference from the preceding Chelsea-Liverpool semi-finals will be the presence on the bench of Avram Grant rather than José Mourinho. It has been a tumultuous campaign at Stamford Bridge, with changes off the field and injuries on it, and Lampard praises his resilient colleagues for getting so close to the final once again. "It says a lot because it has been difficult," he said. "We've had to concentrate on ourselves on the pitch because so much has been happening off it – injuries, things that have been out of our hands – so credit to the squad as a whole. Through difficult periods we've come through. I think that is very much down to the spirit and togetherness of the club. We just need to carry that on for another month."