I spoke to Lampard last week and, quite rightly, he was delighted with the progress his side had made and where they were at, defensively and offensively.
Sunday’s draw does not change that. Chelsea have now only lost once – to Liverpool – in 16 games in all competitions in 2020-21 and are already through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
They are third in the Premier League, only two points off the top, and are joint-highest scorers. Things are coming together nicely for them, and Lampard deserves a lot of credit for that.
He will tell you himself that he is a rookie manager and still learning about the job, but he has been very impressive in everything he has done so far.
Frank’s achievements as a Chelsea player, his relationship with the fans and his friendship with the club’s owner Roman Abramovich made him a good fit when he was appointed but without results to back that up he would still not have lasted very long.
He achieved his objectives last season under difficult circumstances – Chelsea had just sold their best player, Eden Hazard, and could not make any signings because of a transfer ban.
The Blues had to rely a lot on young players – one of the things that stood out for me was that Frank gave so many of them a chance – but they still finished in the top four and qualified for the Champions League.
At the beginning of this season, expectations were very different because they spent so big in the summer and there is probably more pressure on Lampard. So far, though, he has delivered.
There is still so much that Frank wants to achieve – and win – at Chelsea, but he has made a very strong start. He has not given anyone any reason to doubt him as manager – far from it, in fact.
