London: Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said there is nothing wrong with supporters dreaming they can win the English Premier League title but stressed his players cannot afford to get complacent.
Two thousand fans in Stamford Bridge, the first attendance in nine months due to COVID-19 restrictions, watched Chelsea come from behind to secure a 3-1 victory over Leeds United on Saturday.
Chelsea finished the day at the top of the league table for the first time since September 2018, although Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool can overhaul Lampard’s side again later on Sunday.
Jurgen Klopp, coach of defending champions Liverpool, said that Chelsea are the favourites to win the title, adding that the Lampard side has “great players”.
Klopp said: “Chelsea for me in the moment looks like the favourite — bigger squad, great players, play football,”
Asked if Chelsea consider themselves title contenders, Lampard said: “There’s certainly nothing wrong with the fans thinking that.
“It’s great to have them back, their input was huge, the noise huge. You can see how excited they are at the end that we are top of the league,” he said.
“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.” Lampard faces a nervous wait to learn the extent of an injury picked up by Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech in the first half.
“It is a hamstring injury which we will find out the severity of in the next couple of days,” he said. “It is obviously a disappointment going into this busy period.”
