Chelsea vs Sheffield United result: Five things we learned as Frank Lampard’s side run riot

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Chelsea went behind early on but came back to hammer Sheffield United 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Less than 10 minutes were on the clock before the Blades took the lead, David McGoldrick cleverly flicking in after a short corner routine, but Tammy Abraham’s bouncing shot levelled matters up before the half-hour mark.

Chelsea were ahead before half-time when Ben Chilwell scored from close range, with question marks over Aaron Ramsdale being unable to beat the left-back to a deep delivery.

After the break Sheffield United struggled to create any chances of note and Thiago Silva’s flicked header ended any hopes of a comeback before Timo Werner helped himself to another.

Here are five things we learned from the game at Stamford Bridge.

Mendy clean sheet run over

New Blues goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has won plaudits for his fine handling, cool approach and, above all else, clean sheets.

That ended here; he had six clean sheets coming into the fixture but a well-worked set-piece routine opened up the defence - and there was nothing Mendy could do about the back-heel from McGoldrick.

Throughout the rest of the game, though, Mendy’s strengths were back on view.

His handling is excellent, aerially he takes everything which comes his way and, best of all, it’s all with a calm demeanour and cool head.

Ziyech-Kovacic combo shine

It lasted 70 minutes, but it was the best link-up of the day. Mateo Kovacic effectively replaced the Covid-stricken Kai Havertz on the right side of a midfield three and he linked up often and well with right-sided forward Hakim Ziyech.

Both players have had to wait for a chance this season; the Croatian one of the players to fall out of favour after heavy summer recruitment and the ex-Ajax man injured after joining.

In tandem, they were excellent.

There was continual combination play between them, lots of angles for quick passes and a few openings made for others as a result.

Ziyech assisted two on the day and Kovacic one - and the sight of him going off injured in the second half will hopefully be precautionary more than problematic.

Blunt Blades

Once again, Sheffield United rarely looked like taking points once they conceded more than once.

Just six shots in the game, three on target, an expected goals total of just 0.79 - they can’t imagine that points will come their way when they score every other game on average.

Bottom of the table and without a win, it’s seven defeats from eight games and a really worrying time for the Blades.

This international break must present a chance to reassess and plan how the wins and chances on goal are going to return.

Werner looking sharp

He only scored once, and was quiet in spells, but Timo Werner showed here how quickly and devastatingly he comes to life.

Twice he hit the woodwork, while another darting run saw him lob the goalkeeper and see the ball drift an inch wide.

Only small margins separate this from being seen as a low-key game which he netted an irrelevant fourth goal in, and another 90 minutes yielding another hat-trick as he shows he’s one of the buys of the summer.

Playing in off the left he’s sharp, has freedom to run behind the defence and is a huge, huge goal threat for Chelsea.

Opposite ends

While Sheffield United stay at the bottom of the table, Chelsea are only looking up.

Their win takes them into third ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games, and notably they are the highest scorers in the league now.

It’s three wins in the league from five, four wins in a row in all competitions and four games in succession they have notched at least three goals.

Things are looking good for Lampard and Co, as they search for the consistency in these big performances to stay at or near the top.

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