As Frank Lampard left the Etihad after Chelsea lost 2-1 there last November, he sensed his side were starting to bridge the gap between themselves and the top two.
A sweet Riyad Mahrez strike had proved the difference in an absorbing contest, but Lampard took heart from the way Chelsea had performed in defeat against Manchester City.
“We are coming,” he said, with a wry smile, after the Blues had led through N’Golo Kante and enjoyed 53 per cent possession, which was the most recorded against one of Pep Guardiola’s teams in any of his previous 381 top-flight matches spanning 11 years.
“I do not want to shout too loudly and we will have to show that. But that is how I feel, we are coming to close that gap.”
A lot has happened in the seven months since then and tonight Chelsea will get a chance to measure whether they have moved any nearer to City when they meet at Stamford Bridge.
Now almost a year into the job, Lampard’s three-year plan to close the gap to Liverpool and City is well under way.
The framework of how he sees Chelsea in the forthcoming years is beginning to take shape and the signings of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech for a combined £85million signal their desire to challenge for major trophies again under owner Roman Abramovich.
Despite having to deal with their FIFA-imposed transfer ban and the loss of Eden Hazard, Chelsea have made tangible progress this season. Wins against Liverpool and Everton before the season was suspended were, after some indifferent results, evidence that Lampard’s young side are moving in the right direction.
A 2-1 win at Aston Villa on Sunday means they remain on course to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.
Lampard knows there is much work to be done to restore Chelsea to a position from which they can regularly challenge for the title.
They have lacked bite in the final third, conceded too many soft goals this season and their shortage of quality was hammered home when Bayern ran riot in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, winning 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in February.
Lampard said during lockdown that the Euro defeat had “put us in our place” and he knows tonight will be a good benchmark of Chelsea’s progress.
“Every game in an opportunity to see the growth of the team,” he said. “Against Aston Villa we went behind and it is nice to see a bit of character in the way we played to come back. But, of course, when you are playing City, there are benchmarks there for you.
“As a club like Chelsea, we want to be at that level, competing for first, competing in cup competitions.
Chelsea in recent years have been there a lot but at the moment we know we are in a slightly different situation. We know we want to get there, we want to close that gap. So, when you go head to head, it is a great opportunity for the players.”
The worry for Chelsea is how good City have been since the restart. They have beaten Arsenal 3-0, Burnley 5-0 and look in no mood to just hand their crown over to Liverpool, even if they will be surrendering it soon enough.
Asked what Chelsea can take from their spirited display at the Etihad earlier this season, Lampard said: “Probably that when you play a team of the level of Manchester City, when you play well and match them in general play, if you have a couple of moments in the game where you switch off they will punish you.
“So, we will have to be at our best, match that level of performance, take our chances when we get them, because we had some up there that we did not take. Also be very vigilant in how we defend and the work ethic has to be huge to step them playing.
“It is a huge challenge, we know that every time we play City, but we have to believe in ourselves and give it our best. Because if we do, I have pure belief in this team that they can go up against anybody.”
