Chelsea came from behind to trounce Leeds United 3 – 1 at home as race for the English Premier League title intensifies.
For the first time since March, up to 2000 Chelsea fans were allowed into the stadium to watch the game, but were soon silenced by former striker Patrick Bamford in the early minutes.
However, Frank Lampard’s men were still able to pull something out before the break through Oliver Giroud who bagged his first League start of the season after scoring four at Sevilla in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Chelsea followed up in the second half as Kurt Zouma’s towering header from a set piece and Christian Pulisic late goal sealed the victory for the host.
The Blues are top in the English top-flight table and have a one-point lead over reigning champions Liverpool and Tottenham, who play on Sunday.
For Frank Lampard, the only thing that seemed to have cut his joy short in the electrifying encounter surfaced in the 27th minutes after Hakim Ziyech succumbed to an apparent hamstring injury.
The 27-year-old had become a fixture on the right wing since recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of the squad since the brief preseason.
The Moroccan took part in buildup to Chelsea’s equalizer after setting up Reece James with a ball into space, which the young full back squared into the box for Olivier Giroud to score.
After the match, Lampard confirmed that Ziyech’s substitution was the result of injury, with the severity to be determined after further tests are completed.
“It’s certainly an unfortunate setback for Ziyech, as we could be looking upwards of 4-6 weeks out, depending on the severity.
“That’s how long our last hamstring injury victim, and incidentally the player who replaced Ziyech in the match, Christian Pulisic was out before his return this week,” Lampard said.
