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The Blues are excelling in set pieces in both boxes, having added key personnel in the playing lines and a new coach to work alongside Lampard.
Tammy Abraham may have earned the plaudits with her two late goals, but Chelsea’s 3-0 win over West Ham was a story of how decisive set pieces can be when all else fails.
The Blues were desperate for victory after losing two in a row and faced rivals from London in form that defeated them twice last season.
The Hammers were able to dominate Chelsea for long stretches at Stamford Bridge, but set pieces made a difference at both ends.
Having been their great weakness last season, and having cost them against the Hammers in July, set pieces are now among Chelsea’s greatest strengths.
Part of that can be attributed to the quality of delivery, particularly from Mason Mount. Thiago Silva met his handsome cross for his second goal of the season and, in the process, opened the scoring on Monday night.
Until then, David Moyes’ team had not let in a goal from that kind of situation this season, but they faced a greater threat against Chelsea.
And it’s not just Mount, as Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Hakim Ziyech have also been proficient at stepping up to make set pieces.
Additionally, players attacking deliveries are deadly. Kurt Zouma’s four header goals mark him ahead of his teammates, while Abraham and Olivier Giroud have been major threats in the air.
This season, Chelsea have scored eight goals from the corners, which is more than any other team in the Premier League, and three of them have been from Mount deliveries.
Having played just 14 games, Chelsea have already scored more from the corners than in the entire league campaign last season.
Many of the same players who hit the rival goal have also been decisive at the other end in the defense of dead balls.
Zouma’s aerial jump makes him particularly dominant, but Silva’s ability to lead his defensive line has also made a big difference.
The signing of Chilwell adds another great presence in the area, with new signing Edouard Mendy specializing in collecting crosses with his height and jump.
Mendy’s skills are in stark contrast to the record signing of Kepa Arrizabalaga, who fell short in that regard last year.
Lampard later said that the quality of the club’s recruitment was a simple factor in shutting down what has been one of West Ham’s biggest threats.
“They were great,” Lampard said. “Thiago was the leader and he also mentioned Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta]. The wingers have to defend their zone because [West Ham] they are crossing over and over again in many areas and are very good at set pieces.
“It’s something we’ve worked a lot on in training and staff like Thiago help us a lot. Some of our infield defenses this season have been really good and consistent and that has to be maintained, particularly against opponents like the ones we’ve seen tonight. . “
Much has been made of Chelsea’s squandering of £ 220 million ($ 275 million) during the offseason, but with Timo Werner and Kai Havertz losing shape lately and Ziyech injured, another signing has made the difference.
The Blues added first team coach Anthony Barry to their united group after brilliant references from assistant head coach Jody Morris, who had studied for his UEFA Pro License alongside him.
Arriving from Wigan, Barry helped his new club work on his set piece weakness, which was a focus of the Blues’ short preseason.
In fact, he’s more than a specialist coach, but his addition shows the proactive thoughts Lampard had on problem solving behind the scenes from last season.
Despite climbing to fifth place, Chelsea know they have a lot of trouble ahead of a trip to Arsenal on Boxing Day. Chilwell was injured against West Ham while James still has a knee problem.
Their two new German attackers aren’t creating or scoring enough, but in the meantime they can turn to their new superpower: fixed play.
