Frank Lampard's back on the goal trail as he lights up Stamford Bridge

Getting it right: Frank Lampard celebrates with fellow goalscorer Salomon Kalou
11 April 2012

Frank Lampard ended his goal drought and Chelsea shook off their set-piece jitters in defence to crush Atletico Madrid with a performance skipper John Terry believes proves his team have the strength in depth that struggling Liverpool can only dream of.

Lampard's strike, the third in a 4-0 romp over Atletico, took him to 133 goals and past the legendary Jimmy Greaves in the club's all-time leading scorers list — putting him into fifth place — but it was the way Chelsea played without the suspended Didier Drogba that impressed Terry.

He believes Liverpool lack quality throughout the squad and will struggle to get back in the title race without Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Terry, says Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has a tough job to turn their season around after seeing his side lose their last four games in all competitions — with the looming prospect of facing Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday without the injured Gerrard and Torres.

Liverpool, who trail Chelsea and Manchester United by six and seven points respectively, have relied heavily on the duo over the past two years, but Terry feels they are now paying the price.

When asked if Benitez's men will be out of the title race if they lose against United, Terry said: "I'm not sure, but when Stevie and Torres get injured they seem to be very short in the squad they've got.

"We're very fortunate at Chelsea. Since Roman Abramovich came, we have had a lot of strength in depth in the squad — like with Salomon Kalou scoring twice against Atletico with Didier Drogba being out.

"People said we would struggle without Didier, but we didn't. If you take Torres of their team, who do they bring in? It's difficult.

"We have players that are not here only to make up the numbers, but players that are fighting and working hard every day in training to come in and really prove themselves."

Terry insisted Kalou's two-goal performance last night will have put first-choice strikers Nicolas Anelka and Drogba under pressure, saying: "Salomon seems to always come in and do well.
Didier knows that the players behind him are working hard and wanting his place, the same goes for Nico. When Salomon comes in and does well, it gives the manager a real problem."

Meanwhile, Chelsea have reportedly asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a suspension of Fifa's transfer ban while their appeal takes place, meaning they could sign players in January after all.

Chelsea have officially registered their appeal with CAS over Fifa's decision not to allow them to sign players until January 2011, which they imposed after finding the club guilty of inducing Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens to join them in 2007.

The process could take some time to resolve so a suspension would mean Chelsea could sign players in the mean-time, although the club refused to confirm or deny the reports.

Standard Sport revealed on Tuesday how senior players want coach Carlo Ancelotti to buy Emile Heskey in the new year as cover for Drogba while he is away at the African Nations' Cup.

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