Lampard wants to stay at Manchester City

Frank Lampard wants to stay with Manchester City for the rest of the season and fight Chelsea for the Barclays Premier League title.

Lampard, who is scheduled to return to parent club New York City next month to start preparing for life in the MLS, came off the bench to score City’s second against Southampton.

Ten-man City - who beat Ronaldo Koeman’s side 3-0 at St Mary’s - are now within six points of Chelsea following a dramatic weekend.

Manuel Pellegrini is also in favour of Lampard, who is 36, remaining with City until the end of the season, but the complication is the start of the MLS in March.

He said: ‘We will sit down in December and decide what happens. He is a top professional.’

The reigning champions reduced the gap at the top of the table to six points after goals from Yaya Toure, Lampard and left-back Gael Glichy. Eliaquim Mangala was sent off for two bookings.

Pellegrini said: ‘We have to play 25 games more and it’s a lot of points. No one knows what happens in the future.

‘In one week, you can change things. Chelsea are playing very well, but let’s see what happens in the future. We just have to work on us.

‘There are many things we can complain about this year, such as the team conceding too many goals and not scoring as many as last season, but the only thing we cannot complain about is the spirit, the personality and ambition of this squad.’

(dailymail.co.uk)

ANN.Az