Chelsea fans can dream of Premier League title - Lampard

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard says Blues fans can dream of winning the Premier League title, though he warned his side must focus on improving after moving top of the table.

Chelsea provisional Premier League leaders after Leeds win

Chelsea climbed to the top of the summit ahead of Sunday's north London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal, and Liverpool's clash with Wolves after overcoming Leeds United 3-1 on Saturday.

Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma and Christian Pulisic scored for Chelsea, who moved a point clear of rivals Tottenham and defending champions Liverpool, albeit temporarily.

Chelsea are 13 games unbeaten across all competitions and nine in the Premier League amid a growing sense of belief at Stamford Bridge, where a limited number of fans were allowed to attend the match in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The club have not won the Premier League since former boss Antonio Conte delivered the trophy in 2016-17.

"Nothing wrong" with Blues fans thinking about title, says Lampard

Speaking during his post-match news conference, Lampard – whose Blues finished the day top of the Premier League table for the first time since 2018 – told reporters: "There's certainly nothing wrong with the fans thinking that [winning title]. Great to have them back, their input was huge, the noise they made was huge.

"You can see how excited they are at the end that we are top of the league. My job and our job is to know that it's a long season and the next question is how consistent can we be with this form, how much we can improve, because I believe there is a lot more we can do and there will be a lot of challenges ahead. Enjoy the evening.

"I will have that small glass of wine, maybe a large one, but at the same time we need to make sure we stay grounded. But there were a lot of good things. To play against Leeds in the form they are in and the type of team they are and be that dominant in terms of chances was a real great performance from us."

Chelsea boss praises "huge" Giroud performance

Giroud continued his red-hot form after being named in the XI as he became the first Chelsea player to score in six consecutive Premier League starts since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in October 2001.

Aged 34 years and 66 days, Giroud – who netted four goals in Chelsea's Champions League rout of Sevilla – is also the oldest player to ever score in six consecutive Premier League starts.

"I think his performance was great. Off the back of the Sevilla performance, the reference he is for us as a front man as and when balls come into an area he has the ability to be cool and clinical with his finishing," said Lampard, who also revealed Hakim Ziyech is battling a hamstring injury.

"He might have had two or three more today. The personality that he is in the team. I have said it before the game, people will always question me about who I play up front because I have options. When Oli is there I know I can rely on him. Today he was huge."

Lampard lauds Pulisic's "incredible gift" after US star nets

Pulisic was also on target in stoppage time against visiting Leeds – the United States star becoming the 13th different player to score for Chelsea in the Premier League this season. The Blues have had at least four more than any other side in the competition in 2020-21.

Lampard added: "Really pleased today. It's been a difficult period with the injury for him and he gets frustrated in a good way because he wants to play. Having played 60 plus minutes against Sevilla I knew this game would have needed a huge amount of energy for the players and thought it was wise to start him on the bench.

"My plan was probably to give him 30 minutes. But to play the period of the game he played, with the intensity of the game and to get his goal. He has an incredible gift, it sounds simple, but arriving in the six-yard box as a wide man, because that is where the goals are. So I was delighted that he got his goal and he is only going to get stronger now."