The unstoppable exploits of Luis Suarez this season were acknowledged by his peers on Sunday evening, as the Liverpool forward collected the PFA Players' Player of the Year honour at a special ceremony in London.
One of three Reds representatives to be included on the six-man shortlist for the prize nine days ago, the Uruguayan saw off serious competition from teammates Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge to take the trophy.
Chelsea's Lampard says Liverpool pal Gerrard deserves title glory but won't do him any favours on Sunday
“Stevie will be striving to win the league because it's the one little space in his trophy cabinet. But there is no sentiment from us - WE want to win it"
Clive Mason
Give us a hand: Liverpool shouldn't expect Chelsea to roll over insists Lampard
Frank Lampard has warned Steven Gerrard that Chelsea will be out to end the England captain’s dream of winning the Premier League when the close friends clash at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
The title winners’ medal is the one honour to elude Liverpool skipper Gerrard in his illustrious career and the Reds are odds-on to fill that gap as the race for the championship enters a crucial stage.
But the west Londoners are the arch-realists and, weakened team or not, Lampard made it clear that they will be competing for the top spot until the mathematics make it impossible for them to win the title.
“Stevie will go down as a great player no matter what,” said Lampard, who has been an England team-mate of Gerrard’s for some 15 years as the pair progressed through the Under-21s into the full side. “He has won pretty much everything there is going.
“He will be striving to win the league because that is the one little space in his trophy cabinet.”
Lampard added: “As a player he deserves that – but there is no sentiment from us. We want to win it.
"We respect the fact that Stevie is a great player, but I don’t think that he lives or dies on whether they win the title this year
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has already hinted that he may field it a sub-strength team against the Reds.
The home defeat by Sunderland last week left Chelsea trailing in Liverpool’s slipstream.
And after a creditable goalless draw in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final in Spain against Atletico Madrid last week, European glory appears their best bet for silverware.
Mourinho will want to reduce the risk of injury to key personnel ahead of Wednesday’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.
He has already lost keeper Petr Cech (dislocated shoulder) while John Terry (ankle) faces a race to make the kick-off.
“They are a tough two matches,” said Lampard, whose suspension for the return with Atletico makes him a certain starter on Sunday.
Gonzalo Higuain suffered an ankle injury and left the pitch on a stretcher during Napoli's 0-0 draw at Inter on Saturday. • Wilson: Another Inter 0-0 The Argentine striker was hurt as he took a shot in the final minutes at San Siro. Marc...
Bayern Munich sent a warning Real Madrid's way with a 5-2 win over Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. Despite going behind twice to goals from Theodor Gebre Selassie and Aaron Hunt, cancelled out by Franck Ribery and Claudio Pizar...
Sergio Ramos says Real Madrid have "four more finals" in their quest to win the trophy in La Liga. • Train: Efficient Real Real, who gave their run-in a strong push with a 4-0 win against Osasuna on Saturday, may need to win all...
Manager Arsene Wenger knows Arsenal must be satisfied Jack Wilshere is completely ready to tackle both the physical demands of the Premier League and England's World Cup campaign before returning him to action. Wilshere has been sidelined since s...
Pep Guardiola has said the death of his former assistant at Barcelona, Tito Vilanova, will "stay with him forever." • Hunter: A good man, gone too soon • Tributes to Tito Vilanova Guardiola's Bayern Munich team wo...
Ryan Giggs revealed he had a sleepless night as he considered his team selection and which players would miss out ahead of his first game in interim charge of Manchester United. United ran out 4-0 winners over Norwich City at Old Trafford, wit...
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two long-range goals to help Real Madrid rout Osasuna 4-0 on Saturday and stay in the title chase in La Liga, despite resting several first-choice players for their European clash at Bayern Munich. With Gareth Bale rec...
Former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova died on Friday aged 45 after a long battle with throat cancer. • Hunter: Tito gone too soon • Carlisle: Teammate's memory • Tributes to Vilanova Vilanova succeeded Pep Guardiola at Barcelona...
Manchester United have denied that Louis van Gaal has agreed to become their next manager. • Okwonga: New manager first priority • Payne: Leadership vacuum at United Old Trafford sources told ESPN FC during the week that the club had...
Dimitar Berbatov scored twice to help Monaco win 4-1 at Ajaccio on Saturday and delay Paris Saint-Germain's title celebrations for at least a day. Monaco moved seven points behind PSG, who will seal back-to-back titles if they win at relegation-...
