Frank Lampard names the three best midfielders he ever played against

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By Rob Swan

Published Mar 7, 2017

Frank… aren’t you forgetting someone?

Frank Lampard is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s best ever midfielders and deservedly so.The Chelsea legend, who netted a total of 177 goals during his illustrious spell playing in England’s top division, is the fourth highest goalscorer in Premier League history.Only Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Andy Cole have scored more Premier League goals than Lampard who, unlike the aforementioned trio, wasn’t even a striker.Few players in the history of English football have been better than Lampard at arriving late in the opposition’s penalty area from midfield and finishing past the goalkeeper.He had a knack for it. Some described it as luck, but nothing can be called lucky when you see the same thing week-in, week-out. Lampard made the most of his talent by constantly practising and honing his skills.Ask 100 players who plied their trade in the Premier League between 1995 and 2015 to name the three best midfielders they played against and at least 85 of them would name Lampard. In fact, it would be a surprise if that number wasn’t over 90. He was *that* special.

Lampard: The three best midfielders I've faced

But who does Lampard rate as the three best midfielders he played against during his career?

“Steven Gerrard, in the Premier League,” Lampard revealed on Sky Sport’s Monday Night Football following Chelsea’s 2-1 win over West Ham at the London Stadium.

“He had everything. If you got him on his day, you could almost forget about it because he was so powerful as a player. Particularly when you used to go up to Anfield, you know whether Stevie was on his game within the first three minutes because he’d crash through someone. But he had everything, other than the aggressive side he has top ability. He was a great all-round midfield player.”

Lampard then moved on to midfielders he played against in the Champions League.

“If you look in Europe, I’d have to say Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta,” the 38-year-old added. “I think going to the Nou Camp and attempting to get near them for 90 minutes was very tough. They were absolute naturals on the ball.