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Frank Lampard has warned his Chelsea players not to get carried away by climbing to third place in the Premier League and extending their unbeaten streak to 11 matches.
Chelsea thrashed Sheffield United 4-1 at Stamford Bridge to move within a league-top spot, with Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva and Timo Werner all in goal.
David McGoldrick put the Blades on an early lead, but Lampard’s new-looking Chelsea is building their resolve and struck back in style to hit Chris Wilder’s side.
Lampard’s men have only lost this period once, with the £ 220 million summer recruiting drive starting to pay off, but the head of the Blues has told his squad not to think they have cracked the code of the Premier League.
Lampard insisted that Chelsea have yet to close the gap to recent Premier League powerhouses Liverpool and Manchester City, and will continue to reiterate that to their players.
“That was our best performance of the season so far,” Lampard said.
“We are in a good place, but the level of Liverpool and Manchester City means you have to be in that good place every week.
“That is the gap that we have to close, so I will not get carried away by that.”
Brazil stalwart Silva scored his first goal for Chelsea and was captain of the Blues for the first time, following his summer free transfer from Paris St Germain.
At 36, the center-back looks as fresh as ever and in top form, leaving Lampard very impressed by his immediate impact at Stamford Bridge.
“I knew the player he was when he came here, because of the career he’s had,” Lampard said.
“It’s his level of performance since he’s been here; his influence on the group, his personality, his preparation between games, how he attacks the training, how diligently he watches the opposition.
‘He’s been brilliant, I can’t say enough about him today.
“He has had a great influence in the short time he has been here.
“ From the way it handles between games, I’m very open to making sure I keep it as cool as possible.
“He’s fit, he’s fresh, and he’s spreading to others around him.”
Blades boss Wilder believes Silva’s goal should have been disallowed, due to a block in the area in preparation for the Brazil defender’s header.
Wilder insisted his players must quickly learn the ‘dark arts’ to bounce back in his second season in the Premier League.
“We were still in the game until 75 minutes, but then we ended up in a block in the corner,” Wilder said.
“For my team it is a really difficult situation. Sometimes maybe I’m a little naive and we’re not being good at the dark arts.
“It is a real situation that I am in as a coach at the moment.
“That didn’t decide the game because they were better than us, with world-class players who are playing at the top of the game.
But there is a block in the penalty area and then he scores with a header.
‘We are in the game with 2-1 and we are out of it with 4-1.
‘The players have to get up together, they have shaken a bit. It has been a tough race.
“ I thought Chelsea was outstanding. What work Frank Lampard has done, in his second year.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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