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Aston Villa logo
Premier League | Gameweek 30
Jun 21, 2020 at 4.15pm UK
Villa Park
Chelsea logo

Aston Villa
1 - 2
Chelsea

Hause (43')
Konsa (45'), Grealish (90+6')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Pulisic (60'), Giroud (62')
Kante (90+4')

Frank Lampard calls on Chelsea to raise game in final push for top four

Chelsea are five points clear of Manchester United and Wolves in the Premier League.

Frank Lampard has demanded his Chelsea side improve for the final sprint for the top four.

Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud scored two quickfire second-half goals as the Blues hit back at Aston Villa to clinch a crucial 2-1 win on Sunday.

Third-placed Leicester and Manchester United dropped points at Watford and Tottenham respectively with Chelsea now five points ahead of United in fifth and Wolves in sixth.

Olivier Giroud scored the winner
Olivier Giroud scored the winner (Molly Darlington/NMC Pool/PA)

Victory at Villa, after they fell behind to Kortney Hause’s opener, tightened Chelsea’s grip on fourth but Lampard wants more.

“We didn’t know exactly what we were coming in to and now we have three points when some teams have lost points around us,” he said.

“It’s important we don’t lose sight of some of the errors in the game, we conceded a poor goal.

“We played well in patches but when they put us under pressure slightly, I thought we gave it away too easily – things we will definitely have to clean up on in the future games coming up.

“I want to hang on the positive note but it’s my job also to look at things we can improve on. It’s a good feeling for us but we’ll get straight back to work tomorrow because we know the games are coming quick.

“It’s important for the group because we’ve all seen that the games are looking slightly different.”

Ruben Loftus-Cheek also made his first Premier League appearance for 13 months after recovering from a ruptured Achilles.

He played 55 minutes before being replaced by game-changer Pulisic and came close to opening the scoring when he just failed to connect with Willian’s first-half cross.

Lampard said: “I’m delighted for Ruben to be back. He’s got in the team on his own merit in the way that he’s worked for a long time but in the last three, four weeks he’s been back training, he’s looked good.

“We have to give him a little bit of time to adapt but I felt it was a good game to bring his physicality and something different and the flip of having Christian to bring on was great for me.

“He’s going to get much better. It’s a long time since he played but he has so much to give us as a team and as a squad.”

Norwich City v Atalanta – Pre-Season Friendly – Carrow Road
Mario Pasalic is making his loan move to Atalanta permanent (PA)

Meanwhile, the club have announced that midfielder Mario Pasalic is to join Serie A side Atalanta permanently.

The Croatia international is currently spending his second year on loan with the Champions League quarter-finalists.

The Blues confirmed the move on their official website and said: “We thank Mario for his service to the club and wish him the best of luck for the next chapter of his career.”

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


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