Chelsea tighten grip on top four

Fan favourite ... Frank Lampard celebrates his goal against Swansea. Source:AAP

Frank Lampard moved to within one goal of Bobby Tambling's Chelsea record with the penalty that sealed his team's 2-0 victory over Swansea on Sunday.

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	35	27	4	4	43	85
2	Man City	34	21	8	5	30	71
3	Chelsea	34	19	8	7	33	65
4	Arsenal	35	18	10	7	30	64
5	Tottenham	34	18	8	8	17	62
6	Everton	35	15	14	6	14	59
7	Liverpool	35	14	12	9	25	54
8	West Brom	34	14	6	14	2	48
9	Swansea	34	10	12	12	-1	42
10	West Ham	35	11	9	15	-8	42
11	Fulham	35	10	10	15	-9	40
12	Stoke	35	9	13	13	-10	40
13	Southampton	35	9	12	14	-10	39
14	Norwich	35	8	14	13	-21	38
15	Sunderland	34	9	10	15	-7	37
16	Newcastle	35	10	7	18	-23	37
17	Aston Villa	34	8	10	16	-27	34
18	Wigan	34	8	8	18	-23	32
19	QPR	35	4	13	18	-27	25
20	Reading	35	5	10	20	-28	25

With Tambling watching from the stands, Lampard hit his 201st goal for the Blues shortly after setting up Oscar for the strike that put Rafael Benitez's side ahead in the 44th minute at Stamford Bridge.

The win strengthened Chelsea's grip on a top four place, moving them three points clear of Tottenham who lie fifth with just four games remaining.

"I think it was a good game because not just to win, we created a lot of chances, we play nice football, the fancy players that we have, they were always around the box and defending we had some balance," Benitez told Sky Sports.

"Some situations in the second half, they were attacking a little bit more and between the lines we had some problems, but still we had a lot of chances and I felt for the fans, it was a good game."

The match also marked referee Mark Clattenburg's first appearance at the Bridge since he was cleared of racially abusing John Obi Mikel during Chelsea's defeat to Manchester United last October.

Clattenburg's return passed off with little controversy, although Benitez and his players were convinced Swansea captain Ashley Williams should have received a second yellow card midway through the second half.

The referee's decision not to punish Williams for pulling back Demba Ba made little difference to the outcome however, with Chelsea easing their way to victory against a Swansea team with little to play for.

Benitez's side came into the game on the back of Thursday's impressive victory in Basle in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.

That result moved the Blues closer to a second successive European final following last year's Champions League triumph, but Benitez has always maintained a place in the top four is the club's main priority.

And Chelsea's hopes of securing a place in next season's Champions League were lifted ahead of this clash by Tottenham's failure to beat Wigan 24 hours earlier.

"We said that it (the race for top four) could go on until the end of the season so we have to concentrate on every game," Benitez said. 

"Today to get three points, to do well, to play nice football was also important."

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