Frank Lampard Quotes

How do you mark Ronaldo? You try not to leave him alone and don't let him shoot on his right foot. As for Messi... you just make the sign of the cross!

What Liverpool do really well is they try to get you inside but then close you down.

Most teams - whether they like it or not against Manchester City - you're going to find yourself quite often penned in your own half.

The last thing you want as a striker is the opposing team putting all 10 players behind the ball.

Considering Messi's quality and everything he represents, I don't think I've seen him playing with a guy following him around the pitch the entire time with the sole purpose of not letting him play.

When we are operating in tight spaces and when the opposition are closing us down, players like Messi can help us to create openings.

The only way to stop Messi is to double mark him. One player to stay on him and the other to help out.

The best way to stop Messi is when you play with 11 men and then you can double mark him, one player to stay on him and the other to help out. If it is 11 against 10 then you have almost no chance of stopping him.

One of biggest rules in football is you have to avoid crosses.

At Ajax, I got an education in how to be confident on the ball, my technique, and then, at Atletico, I learned how to defend. It was about the details, the ruthlessness; be clinical in front of your own goal, win every duel, be clever. I learned so much and, defensively, I grew there so much.

There's two sides to the game, and you have to do the ugly side as well. If you're getting beat, and you're conceding the goals that we're getting beaten by, then it's because you're not defending and shutting people down well enough.

The only thing is against Messi you can stop him 10 times, but if he passes you once and scores, people say, 'Evra played a poor game.'

What interests Chiellini and I is not conceding goals. We're able to create chances and it makes us happy when we take them.

In England and Germany, perhaps, there is more of a focus on the physical side of the game, in breaking down the opposition's play, especially against the lower placed sides.

When I've watched teams that play with five at the back and wing-backs, I've looked at their starting positions and positions out of possession because that comes a little bit more unnaturally to me.

Messi often has a crowd of opponents around him, but with Neymar on the pitch, too, at least two of those opposition players will have to be aware of him.

I don't like getting pinned back with a line of four in midfield. You risk losing too much space.

Man-marking Messi is almost impossible.

Italy do not only defend; they can attack, too. They have attacking qualities, and they create chances.

I can honestly tell you that playing against Messi is very difficult.

Messi is the best in the world, even when he is defending.

When there's pressure on the ball, you can go man-to-man on your striker; you've got the advantage because the ball pressure means it'll be a difficult pass to play.

To be useful in defence, to win back the ball, you don't always have to go sliding into the tackle. It's also about your positioning; sometimes all you have to do is take a step back.

It is possible to stop Messi. Teams do it when he plays for Argentina. But the Barcelona Messi is different.

Tactically, Italians are very strong. They are a lot into tactics: how to defend, when you lose the ball, where will you be?