Frank Lampard was delighted with Chelsea's 4-1 rout of Sheffield United - but demanded great consistency after the win.

Hakim Ziyech was again Chelsea's inspiration – playing a key part in three of their goals - and with Christian Pulisic and Kai Havertz unavailable, it was evidence of the strength in depth of Lampard's squad.

Lampard said: “We're in a good place, but there's a level that's been set by Liverpool and City in the last few years that means you have to be in that good place every game and every week and that's the gap that we have to close.

“I certainly won't jump ahead of myself albeit I'm very pleased with a lot of the signs today."

Chelsea have turned around an indifferent start to the season, which Lampard always claimed was a result of six new players coming in with little time to prepare for the Covid-impacted schedule.

“People were looking at where we were at and people were very quick to look at goals conceded or not getting the wins," he said. “I think people expected that pretty quickly if I'm honest and I didn't.

“We had some injuries and we had the idea of people coming in and had to work to get better very quickly. I think now with the performance today it was our best performance of the season for sure in complete terms."

Lampard hailed Ziyech's impact after the Moroccan's latest outstanding performance.

“He has given us an extra edge and a different threat," he said. “He's been out for a long time so it's been really impressive how quickly he's hit the ground running.

“He gives us a different style in terms of the left foot off the right side. It's something we haven't had much of in recent years. The ability to find the last pass or the last cross or assist to break teams down that have a low blow – we saw that today.

“His personality rubs off. I keep talking about personality. I think it's a huge thing in football. The signings we've brought in have brought a lot on and off the pitch. The confidence he exudes and how much he wants to receive the ball and be the important player that makes the assist has been a big plus.

“There are some great left-footed players in the Premier League. Gareth Bale is one of the best players in world football for the last 10 years and he's back here now.

“You see quality left-footed players and there is something sweet about them generally. In football we always think that about them.

“He's brought a different element to our game. He sees the pass and has no fear to try the pass even if he's missed the last one because he's trying to play game-changing passes regularly. I think there are a lot of parts to his game. I wouldn't want to just lean on that. His work ethic off the ball as well, his work for the team means he's a very complete player so I expect a lot more to come from him."