Xabi to pull rank on Frank

By Adrian Clarke

Spain midfield player Xabi Alonso is convinced it will be fourth time lucky for Liverpool FC when they tackle bogey team Chelsea FC in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Poor record
Rafael Benítez's side trail Chelsea by an astonishing 31 points in the Premiership and have narrowly lost all three of their meetings with the Londoners so far this season. Nevertheless, Alonso is confident the Reds will be able to maintain their superb European form and snatch a shock victory at Stamford Bridge.

'Even chance'
"We may have lost three times to Chelsea already this season but every football match is different," Alonso told uefa.com. "Football is not an exact science and those past meetings won't affect the semi-final. All we can do this time is try not to make the same mistakes which allowed Chelsea to beat us before. If we do that, we have an even chance of beating them.

Simple plan
"I don't think there is any secret to beating Chelsea," he added. "They are an excellent team but they are not unbeatable. Liverpool's plan is to get a good result in London, scoring at least one goal, then to finish the job at Anfield. If we begin the second leg in a healthy position we will have a great opportunity to make the final."

Prolific scorers
Chelsea's dominance of the Premiership this term has proved beyond doubt that José Mourinho has built a side capable of winning the Champions League. Despite being labelled a 'boring' team, goals have not been hard to come by for Chelsea with five players into double figures already this season.

Dangerous Lampard
The 23-year-old Alonso is glowing in his praise for their goalscoring midfielder Frank Lampard in particular. "Lampard is having a great season so it's important we stop him from playing well against us," he said. "He has a wonderful ability to break forward quickly from midfield, scoring and making many goals for his team.

Midfield battle
"To stop him, we need to look after the ball when we are in possession and win as many loose balls in midfield as we can," Alonso added. "I will be trying to make sure Lampard doesn't get control of the ball too much, and when he does I will make life as uncomfortable as I possibly can for him. If we don't do that in the middle of the pitch, we know he can hurt us."

Attacking intentions
Despite being wary of Chelsea's attacking prowess, Alonso insists Benítez's side will go on the offensive at Stamford Bridge in an attempt to snare at least one priceless away goal. "It's vital we get at least one goal at their stadium because it will give us a superb chance of reaching the final," he said.

Home strength
"The first leg is so important," he continued. "If we can take a draw or a win with us to Anfield the tie will be in our favour. We have already beaten Bayer [04] Leverkusen and Juventus [FC] at home in the knockout stages, so there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to do the same again.

Almost there
"Our run in the Champions League has been tremendous this season and now we have made the last four, we all know we have the chance to be European champions," he concluded. "If we maintain our form in Europe for three more matches we can win the Champions League. I am sure of it."