Chelsea
went top of the Premier League in front of 2,000 supporters with their 3-1
win over Leeds on Saturday night - but Frank Lampard said that while the
fans should get excited, he and his players must stay focused.
Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma, and Christian Pulisic struck back after Patrick
Bamford's early opener for the visitors at Stamford Bridge, sparking
celebrations in the stands where a limited number of fans were admitted
following easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Chelsea ended the day top of the Premier League for the first time since
September 2018 and when asked if he and his side, and the fans, can start
believing they can win the title, Lampard said: "There's certainly nothing
wrong with the fans thinking that.
"It's great to have them back, their input was huge, the noise huge. You can
see how excited they are at the end that we are top of the league.
"My job and our job is to know that it's a long season and the next question
is how consistent can we be with this form, how much we can improve, because
I believe there is a lot more we can do and there will be a lot of
challenges ahead.
"Enjoy the evening," he added. "I will have that small glass of wine, maybe
a large one, but at the same time we need to make sure we stay grounded.
"But there were a lot of good things. To play against Leeds in the form they
are in and the type of team they are and dominate in terms of chances was a
great performance from us."
Lampard insists his team are firmly heading in the right direction but
refused to get caught up in the excitement around his side's potential title
challenge.
"It's early December and there's a long way to go," he said. "But we are a
progression.
"When you bring in new players, have young players and you're trying to
integrate... Whether it's this season we get to the heights we want, I don't
know. But we are moving in the right direction.
"I'm really pleased. It's work on the training ground and staff behind the
scenes. At our level, at Chelsea, people will always question us. Our job is
to not get caught up in the chat. We have to keep our feet on the ground.
There's a long, long way to go. At the minute we're in a patch."
Speaking to Sky Sports, Lampard was pleased with the resilience his side
showed to going behind to an early goal from Patrick Bamford.
"We started brilliantly in the first few minutes but then they scored so
that's a test straight away," said Lampard. "We created so many
opportunities, stayed positive and defended well.
"We had to accept they would probably create chances but I thought we
dominated the game in terms of action in the two boxes. I thought we
deserved the win though it was a bit nervy until the end. There were lots of
good individual performances."
However, Lampard also confirmed Hakim Ziyech suffered a hamstring injury in
the first half, and said Chelsea will have assess him in the coming days.
Opta stats - Chelsea's brilliant form continues
Chelsea have finished a day top of the Premier League table for the first
time since September 2018.
Chelsea have beaten Leeds in what is their first league encounter since May
2004, while it's their third consecutive victory against them in all
competitions.
Chelsea have won four of their last five Premier League games (D1) - indeed,
no current Premier League side is on a longer unbeaten run than the Blues (9
- W5 D4).
Oliver Giroud has become the first Chelsea player to score in six
consecutive Premier League starts since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in October
2001. Whilst at 34 years and 66 days, he is the oldest player to ever score
in six consecutive Premier League starts.
Christian Pulisic became the 13th different player to score for Chelsea in
the Premier League this season - the Blues have had at least four more than
any other side in the competition in 2020-21(excluding own goals).
What's next?
Chelsea host Krasnodar in the Champions League on Tuesday before travelling
to Everton next Saturday for an 8pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports Premier
League.
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