Lampard hails Chelsea’s men of steel after perfect restart to Premier League

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard believes his players have shown steel to grind out results and developed a knack of converting goal-scoring chances in a perfect restart to the 2019-20 campaign.

Lampard, whose Chelsea side booked an FA Cup semifinal spot with a 1-0 win over Leicester City over the weekend, has also guided the team to Premier League victories over Aston Villa and second-place Manchester City.

While some clubs have struggled to get going since the resumption earlier this month, Chelsea has scored five goals in three matches as it continues to gather momentum for the season run-in.

“I’m happy to win games and with elements of the games we’ve played, particularly the first two,” Lampard told a news conference ahead Chelsea’s league clash against London rivals West Ham United on Wednesday.

“We showed steel against Man City, it’s something we must improve and get better at.

“We have had a lot of games where we have had chances but not converted. We have shown a good eye for it (since the restart). We have created a lot. We are scoring more regularly and we’ll strive for more.”

Chelsea’s two new signings Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech will officially join the club on Wednesday, with Lampard currently working out a plan to integrate the pair into the first-team squad.

Ziyech and Werner arrive from Ajax Amsterdam and RB Leipzig, respectively, but are ineligible to play for Chelsea for the rest of the current season.

“Hakim hasn’t played for a while and Timo finished at the weekend,” Lampard added.

“We will formulate a plan for them which will look slightly different individually and I’ll *Liverpool 31 Manchester City 31 Leicester City 31 Chelsea 31 Wolverhampton 32 ManchesterUnited 31 Tottenham Hotspur 31 Burnley 32 Sheffield United 31 Arsenal 31 Crystal Palace 32 Everton 31 Southampton 32 Newcastle United 31 Brighton & Hove 31 Watford 32 West Ham United 31 AFC Bournemouth 31 Aston Villa 31 Norwich City 31 28 20 16 16 13 13 12 13 11 10 11 11 12 10 7 6 7 7 7 5 2 3 7 6 13 10 9 6 11 13 9 8 4 9 12 10 6 6 6 6 11 86 8 63 8 55 9 54 6 52 8 49 10 45 13 45 9 44 8 43 12 42 12 41 16 40 12 39 12 33 16 28 18 27 18 27 19 27 20 21

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester City (late).

Everton vs Leicester City (live on Sport 1 at 8 p.m.); Arsenal vs Norwich City (live on Sport 2 at 8 p.m.); AFC Bournemouth vs Newcastle United (live on Sport 3 at 8 p.m.); West Ham United vs Chelsea (live on Sport 2 at 10:15 p.m.).

decide how it looks at the training ground, whether that means mixing with the squad or some physical work in the shorter term for themselves.” (Reuters)