Frank Lampard was pleased to see Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham get his reward with a late brace in the 3-0 win over West Ham on Monday.
The 23-year-old had not started any of the Blues’ last four league games and failed to find the net in a whole month, but got back on the scoresheet with a close-range finish in the 78th-minute at Stamford Bridge.
Two minutes later and the England forward doubled his tally when he confidently fired in from a tight angle after Christian Pulisic had been denied.
With fellow forward Timo Werner now without a goal in nine games, Abraham’s return to form was a welcome relief for Lampard, who saw his team move up to fifth in the Premier League and six points off Liverpool.
“It is good for Tammy’s confidence clearly,” the Chelsea manager said.
“You have to work for your goals and he did work for the goals today and put a lot of effort in.
“I wanted him to be a handful, I wanted to see movement and he did that. Oli (Giroud) has been doing it and scoring goals recently so it was a decision more on the opposition for Tammy (starting) and I’m pleased with how he did.
“You need people scoring goals regularly and this will do Tammy good.”
An opener from Thiago Silva in the 10th minute got Chelsea on track to bounce back after defeats at Wolves and Everton.
The victory moved them up to fifth and above Tottenham, who had been top until a 2-1 loss at Liverpool last week.
The champions returned to the summit with that win and will be there at Christmas for a third year in a row, but the Blues are only six points off them and yet their manager is not set to get carried away.
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