Chelsea won back-to-back Premier League games under Frank Lampard for the first time with a 4-1 win at Southampton.
Tammy Abraham’s eighth league goal of the season set the Blues on their way after 17 minutes before Mason Mount doubled the lead. N’Golo Kante scored the third goal. Christian Pulisic, on as a substitute, found Michy Batshuayi in the 89th minute and he scored.
Following the game, Lampard faced the press.
On Tammy Abraham
It’s confidence. When people are in good form, things happen for them. And that comes from how Tammy has handled himself all season form the early moments when people were questioning him. The work ethic behind the scenes that gets him in such good nick.
He’s not just a handful for defenders, he has good feet, holds up the ball well. He is also getting goals which is brilliant for him. I trusted in Tammy at the start of the season. I felt it was his time to come back to Chelsea. I know people point to the circumstances but he has Olly Giroud - a World Cup winner. And Batshuayi who is a great Premier League striker too in my opinion. He has made the position his own in the short term. Over the season we will need everybody and he deserves a great start to the season. I will keep on him because I want more. He took a bang on the back of the knee but I think he just wanted a round of applause.
On Callum Hudson-Odoi
I thought he did well. It was a great assist for Tammy’s goal. I thought his work rate was good. In the first half his work rate of staying close to the midfielder and staying close to the full-back was all the things that want from the wingers.
He could have got his goal. Looking to run in behind people, getting in behind people quite a few times in the game where he can be lethal, and that’s where I want him to be. And he will get better because he has had a serious injury so the fitness has been a bit of an issue and looking after him now that he’s getting towards proper match fitness.
On current form
It is a difficult question because the expectations are hard to say, coming in fresh, because we knew there would be challenges and then you can’t always assess where everyone else is going to be and what might happen.
And I feel we are a few points short of where we should be in terms of performance. And that’s not bad luck, that’s just being self-critical.
There are games we should have got more points from, and that’s on us. But I am pretty happy. I’m pretty happy that we’re in and around the group.
Obviously Liverpool are out on their own at the minute but at this early stage we are in a nice position and it should give us determination to go away and come back in the same vein. Because the minute you relax in this league it can all change very quickly.
And while we’re on a nice feel, the reason we are playing well is because of our hard work and how together we are and if we can keep going with that then yes, we will challenging right up there I hope.