Frank Lampard insists Chelsea deserved to beat Aston Villa

Chelsea's tricky run of form extended to one win in their last five games on Monday as they were held to a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

Olivier Giroud headed the Blues in front late in the first half, but Anwar El Ghazi soon levelled things up. Chelsea enjoyed a number of good chances but failed to really test Emiliano Martinez in the Villa goal.

While the end product wasn't there, Lampard admitted he was proud of his side's reaction to the recent 3-1 loss to Arsenal - a game after which the attitude of the squad had come under real scrutiny.

"It's a draw against a good team, the performance was good, we deserved to win the game but we don't," he said (via Sky Sports News). "We've come through a difficult patch, that we want to improve. We saw a lot of signs of good attitude in the team, without quite having it in the final third.

"It leaves us having to do more of the same, because the season is tight. We've had a little difficult time, and today I saw some really good signs that I liked.

"I had some ideas to make changes anyway, because we have a squad of players ready to play. The changes were to try and keep a bit of balance in the team, and to try to freshen up. I was pleased, I'm not disappointed with anything tonight other than the fact we conceded that goal, and didn't score another. I was pleased with the players that came in and pleased with the attitude."

It was then suggested to Lampard that the absence of Hakim Ziyech, who has missed all of those last five games with a hamstring injury, could be behind Chelsea's inconsistent form in front of goal.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," Lampard confessed. "You can't rely completely on it. But with Hakim, the way he was playing, he was very effective in terms of assists, chance creation, and we were very fluid at the time when he got injured against Leeds.

"Where is he at? There's a possibility he could be fit for Man City it if goes ahead."

Chelsea are scheduled to face City and Morecambe in their next two games, but with both sides forced to cancel upcoming fixtures because of COVID-19 outbreaks in the squad, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Lampard's side.

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