Frank Lampard praises ‘complete performance’ as Chelsea ease past Burnley

Frank Lampard felt his Chelsea side took “a nice step forward” as they made light work of Burnley with a 3-0 win at Turf Moor.

The Blues followed up their 4-0 thrashing of FC Krasnodar in midweek with another clean sheet and another productive day in front of goal, as Hakim Ziyech, Kurt Zouma and Timo Werner all found the target in a confident display.

There were also fine displays on either flank from Ben Chilwell and Reece James, who helped add to both the attacking verve and defensive shape of a team on the up.

Lampard’s summer spending spree looks to be paying off as his combinations settle into their work and, although he was quick to point out there is plenty of work still to do, he cut a satisfied figure at the end of the game.

“It was a complete performance,” he said.

“This feels like a nice step forward. We’re nowhere near the end of the road but it was a really good display and a solid one too. Certainly, we have a nice bit of momentum.

“We brought players in who didn’t have a pre-season so we knew we couldn’t throw everything in the air and have it all land perfectly. But clean sheets are a great sign of the spine in the team.

“When you’re keeping clean sheets and scoring goals you know you’re going in the right direction. I’m not going to jump up and down after a win, but I really enjoyed that performance. We were much more positive in our style of forward passing and that’s all part of the process.”

As for Ziyech, who scored in Russia on his first start for the club and followed up on his first Premier League start with a goal and an assist for Werner, Lampard was suitably enthused.

“I expected a lot of him because I’m aware of his quality, but what we’ve seen since he’s been here is his personality,” he said.

“He gives us a big boost with his demeanour and he’s had two goals in two games in just a few days, it’s a really good start for him.”

Werner owed his starting berth to Christian Pulisic’s injury in the warm-up, with Lampard revealing the forward experienced “a small sensation in his hamstring”. He will now be sent for scans to assess the problem.

For Burnley boss Sean Dyche it was another trying day at the office. His side are rooted at the wrong end of the table with just one point from their first six outings, with issues to address at both ends of the field.

Dyche admitted to being outclassed by the opposition on this occasion but was aggrieved by the decision not award a penalty when Edouard Mendy bundled through Ashley Barnes a few moments after the striker had shot over from a great position.

“The best side won, so that is about right,” he said. “But I am confused about penalties now. I don’t know what is a penalty and what isn’t. People get touched on the shoulder, their legs buckle and it’s a penalty.

“He (Barnes) gets felled pretty harshly but it’s not a penalty. I’m pretty confused. If that’s in the middle of the pitch it’s a foul, 100 per cent.

“I’m not remotely suggesting if we get the penalty we win the game, just to be clear, but you still want to have it.”