In a memorable match for the Chelsea faithful, Frank Lampard scored twice in the second half to lead his club to an important 1-2 win against Aston Villa at Villa Park in Birmingham on Saturday.
The first half began at a sluggish pace where the visitors dominated possession but failed to make it count with sloppy passing in the final third of the pitch.
In the 14th minute, Villa’s Belgian striker Christian Benteke gave them a shock 1-0 lead when he single-handedly created a goal out of nothing. Benteke received the ball in the middle of the park, dribbled it down Cech’s right hand side, and slotted it between Cech and his near post.
The first half ended in even more misery for the Blues when Ramires was given a second yellow card and he was sent off.
However, the tides turned in the second half, where Villan’s hero Benteke himself received a second yellow card and was marched off the pitch.
Immediately after that, in the 61st minute, Lampard scored a stunning left-foot curler which brought the scores level and himself level with the record of Sir Bobby Tambling as Chelsea’s leading goalscorer with 202 goals. He was not to be stopped there!
In the 88th minute, Lampard finished a move which started from the left with a simple tap-in, which took Chelsea to victory, and Lampard to a new record with 203 goals.
With this win, Chelsea have all but secured Champions League place for next year by consolidating 3rd position in the league. They are now 6 points ahead of 5th placed Tottenham Hotspur who have a game in hand, but are much behind in goal difference too, should it come to that.