Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was pleased with his midfield for their 4-1 defeat of Sheffield United.

Mateo Kovacic was handed his first league start in over a month.

Lampard said, "When you think about our squad this year we have competition, as top teams generally do, and I need players that can lift the level and bring something different. That's hard because every player wants to play all the time.

"Kova came in today and the midfield were great, the driving runs, opening spaces for others. It's not easy when you've missed a few games to come in, but he played very well."