Swansea 2-0

Independent:

Chelsea 2 Swansea City 0
It's a stroll for Chelsea as Frank Lampard closes in on Bobby Tambling

By JACK PITT-BROOKE

After being stranded on 200 Chelsea goals for six weeks, Frank Lampard moved within one of Bobby Tambling's club record on Sunday with the second goal of a very comfortable defeat of Swansea City.
Lampard's penalty came three minutes after Oscar had put Chelsea ahead just before half-time. All it took was those two swift attacks to move the Blues back up to third place in the Premier League, one point ahead of Arsenal and three clear of Tottenham Hotspur.
In the 43 minutes before that brief burst, and the 45 after, this was an afternoon of serene strolling control for Chelsea, who dominated possession against a Swansea side not desperate to make life difficult for them.
The last time Swansea were here, nearly four months ago, they won 2-0 in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg. This game was almost the exact opposite of that, not just in the scoreline, but in terms of the gentle atmosphere and lack of tension.
Even the return of referee Mark Clattenburg to Stamford Bridge, six months after he was accused of using a racial slur – an accusation of which he was cleared – did not add any edge to proceedings. Ramires shook Clattenburg's hand before the game and he went on to referee with caution and discretion, arguably being too generous in keeping Cesar Azpilicueta and Ashley Williams on the pitch in the second half.
Rafael Benitez, though, was just pleased with another job well done, a sixth straight home league win coming in between the two legs of a Europa League semi-final with Basel.
"Always to win is good," said the Chelsea interim manager afterwards. "Two goals and a clean sheet, and at this stage of the season with so many games. To play so much good football in attack, with a combination of these players, we were really pleased."
For all of the drama and unpleasantness of this season at Chelsea, they are now well placed, with a game in hand on Arsenal and with Spurs still to come to Stamford Bridge. They are playing better than either of their London rivals and, barring a collapse, should certainly qualify for next year's Champions League.
"Maybe it will go to the last game," said Benitez. "If nothing happens difficult or special, it could be until the last game against Everton. We have to do our job, manage the squad, playing this attacking football we played in the second half with combinations; we'll be OK."
The first 40 minutes of Chelsea's display was one of steadily finding their rhythm, building up slowly before they went ahead. Eden Hazard and Juan Mata were brought in, having not started in Switzerland, and both were lively, Hazard and Demba Ba forcing Michel Vorm into early saves.
Lampard did not start but he replaced Ramires after 24 minutes and added more drive through the middle. His powerful low shot won a corner which Gary Cahill – making his first start for six weeks – headed over. The next minute, though, Lampard helped Chelsea into the lead.
He took the ball from John Terry, briskly exchanged passes with David Luiz and deftly touched it on to Oscar on the edge of the box. In too much space, the Brazilian struck the ball into the far bottom corner.
The move was worthy of a goal and so was the next one, three minutes later, in first-half added time. Mata, awarded Chelsea's Player of the Season honour before kick-off, played the ball to Hazard, went for the return pass and was tripped by Leon Britton. Clattenburg awarded the penalty, Lampard took it and found his favourite corner.
Lampard now has, presuming Chelsea are not beaten on Thursday, six games in May to catch or beat Tambling's record. Tambling was cheered onto the pitch yesterday as the half-time guest and Lampard said last night he was an inspiration in his push for the target.
"Bobby is an absolute gentleman," said the veteran midfielder. "I'm glad he was healthy enough to be here and it was nice to see him. There could not be more of a gentleman to hold that record. It would have been great to [match the record] in front of him but it doesn't work that way."
Lampard is hopeful that he will make history again before the season is out. "I try for it not to be on my mind because people are talking about it. If I am confident and playing regularly and training hard the goals will come."
The Swansea manager Michael Laudrup, who knows a fair bit about playing at the top level, recognised Lampard's threat throughout. "Quality is always quality, when you have it you will always have it," he said. "We all get older, but he's coming into the box, as he has always done, causing problems."
Lampard and Chelsea did not need to do too much in the second half. Ba had three shots saved by Vorm but had Chelsea desperately needed a third they probably would have scored it. Swansea nearly made one or two chances, with Terry not looking quite sharp enough at the heart of the home defence for the England recall he is keen on.
Laudrup had to admit that his team, without a league win in six, have lost some sharpness.
"It is not the first time I have said it, but the last pass, the last finish, has to be with a little bit more quality," he said. "What is incredible is that after the last month and a half without a win, we're still ninth."


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Guardian:

Frank Lampard one goal away from Chelsea record after win over Swansea

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea had paraded their record goalscorer during the interval here, an emotional Bobby Tambling accepting the rapturous reception from all sides as, wheelchair bound after four months in hospital, he sat in front of the Shed End and soaked up the applause through his tears. The locals revelled in his presence even if, by the final whistle, it was this club's present day talisman who was drawing the acclaim, with Frank Lampard now one goal shy of equalling Tambling's tally as time ticks down on his own career in these parts.
The midfielder will be aware opportunities are running out, and there had been a flash of relief in his celebration deep into first-half stoppage time as the net bulged from goal No201 in Chelsea colours. It had been six weeks since he registered his double-century, an untimely seven-match barren spell amid all the squad rotation and clamour for the 34-year-old to be offered a contract extension, but the goals have returned. The penalty dispatched low into the corner beyond Michel Vorm secured this victory but it had been Lampard's introduction as a substitute that had sparked the win.
It was his dispossession of Jonathan de Guzman and dart into enemy territory to force Vorm into a save at full-stretch that had shrugged the home side out of their lethargy. His slipped pass to Oscar, three minutes later, provided the opening goal, and it was his assured finish from the spot that settled affairs to thrust the home side a point clear of Arsenal and three of Tottenham Hotspur in the race for Champions League qualification. Lampard may not be around next season to enjoy that, but he will have played his part in making it happen. "He's a great player, a great professional," said Rafael Benítez. "He wants to play but he understands the priorities and the club comes first."
There is still time – potentially six games – to equal and eclipse Tambling's 43-year record, though the latter stages here were played out with the home support bellowing for the midfielder to do so in the holder's presence. There was a heavy touch when liberated by Juan Mata's clever flick 10 minutes from time, and a volley from the Spaniard's corner that was blocked in a cluttered penalty area, but a clear chance alluded him. Lampard will have to wait.
He shared a joke with Tambling in the home dressing room in the aftermath, the pair having spoken on the telephone last week after the 71-year-old departed hospital in Cork where he had been suffering from pneumonia and Martorelli's Ulcer, a painful disease involving leg ulcerations.
"Bobby is an absolute gentleman and I'm glad he was healthy enough to be here," Lampard said. "It was nice to see him. I'd have liked [the second] to come, and it would've been great to do it in front of him, but it doesn't work that way. If I'm confident and playing regularly and training hard the goals will come if I can keep my head." The older man will not begrudge surrendering his record.
Lampard had benefited from the spritely running of Mata, on his 25th birthday, and the outstanding Eden Hazard to orchestrate this victory. The Belgian was irrepressible, the Spaniard as classy and composed as ever, even if Swansea dazzled themselves at times with the trademark, slick approach play that has decorated the Premier League all season. What they lacked was precisely what Lampard supplied: a clinical final pass, such as that to send Oscar scurrying through on goal, or an accurate finish when an opportunity arrived.
"We all get older, and sometimes the pace is not the same, but quality is quality," said Michael Laudrup, who had retired himself at 34. "He's still coming into the box, as he's always done, and finding positions to cause problems. Great players don't like to run."
Praise means plenty when delivered by the Dane. He was left bemoaning the "five crazy minutes" before the break that yielded the game's decisive moments. First John Terry had collected Vorm's clearance and combined with David Luiz and then Lampard, the England midfielder eventually clipping Oscar free to score across Vorm into the far corner. That was his 11th goal of the campaign, with Leon Britton's tangle with Mata as the midfielder wriggled into the area duly supplying a second. Mark Clattenburg, initially booed on his return to officiate at this club for the first time since the racism storm that erupted in October, spotted the offence in what was a low-profile display. Ashley Williams might have been dismissed for two bookable offences, while César Azpilicueta was wild with one lunge on Ben Davies, but the referee appeared keen to remain out of the spotlight.
Swansea, for all their eagerness in possession, rarely threatened a riposte thereafter as their winless run stretched to six league games even if they continue to hover in the top half of the table. Chelsea's ambitions are loftier and, in third with a considerably better goal difference than Spurs, they have enjoyed a fruitful week. A place in the Europa League final can be secured on Thursday, with a trip to Old Trafford to follow. Lampard's chance will come.
Man of the match Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Swansea City 0

By Ben Rumsby, at Stamford Bridge

Not quite a “former Blues midfielder” he was billed by  Chelsea’s own TV channel this week, Frank Lampard demonstrated his enduring importance to Chelsea after coming off the bench to inspire them to victory and move to within one goal of their all-time scoring record.
Having not scored for six weeks, the midfielder demonstrated the kind of timing that has marked his Stamford Bridge career by netting goal number 201 in front of the current chart-topper, Bobby Tambling.
The seriously ill Tambling flew to London from Ireland on Friday, two days after being released from months in hospital and he was able to celebrate Chelsea moving back up to third in the Premier League.
He will have mixed feelings about Lampard edging towards his record, for which the midfielder ironically had Mark Clattenburg to thank after the referee marked his first Chelsea match since his ‘racism’ row with John Obi Mikel by awarding a soft penalty.
Clattenburg would have hardly been expecting the red carpet to be rolled out at Stamford Bridge and, sure enough, the announcement of his name was roundly jeered before kick-off.
Equally predictable was the hero’s welcome for John Terry, starting back-to-back games for the first time since returning from injury in January.
His failure to do that until today made his desire to make himself available for England again rather perverse but he came through 90 minutes without incident.
That was more than could be said for Ramires, who duly shook the hand of the referee he had accused of racist abuse six months earlier before hobbling off injured after 24 minutes.
It had not quite happened for Chelsea until that point, Demba Ba’s long-ranger the only save Michel Vorm had to make until the arrival of Lampard.
The crowd had been baying for his introduction and it soon became clear why as they began to threaten at regular intervals.
Lampard himself brought the best out of Vorm with a trademark 20-yarder, with the resulting corner diverted just over by Gary Cahill’s towering header.
Swansea City needed half-time but it did not come quickly enough, Terry winning the ball in midfield and finding the run of Lampard, whose lay-off was perfect for Oscar to drive low across Vorm into the corner of the net.
And in the final minute of the half, Juan Mata’s one-two with Eden Hazard saw him get the wrong side of Leon Britton before going to ground under the slightest contact.
Clattenburg had no hesitation pointing to the spot and neither did Lampard, drilling the penalty into the same corner as Oscar’s opener.
The second half was set up for Lampard to equal Tamblong’s record but it became more of a personal duel between Ba and Vorm, who repeatedly thwarted the striker.
It also saw Terry’s lack of pace repeatedly exposed, Cahill sparing his captain’s blushes on more than one occasion.
And for all his decisive refereeing in the first half, Clattenburg twice took the soft option after the break, letting Cesar Azpilicueta off with a booking for a two-footed tackle and refusing to show a second yellow card to Ashley Williams for blatantly blocking off Ba.
Lampard only once went close to goal 202 but surely it is now only a matter of time.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 2-0 Swansea: Lampard and Oscar on target as Blues coast to victory

Martin Lipton

Two goals to go. Six matches, maximum, to get there.
And if Frank Lampard does finally become Chelsea's record goalscorer, surely nobody will begrudge him.
Lampard has not enjoyed his reduced status under Rafa Benitez. Like John Terry, legends want to be in the limelight, not the shadows.
But handed an early chance when Ramires limped off, the England midfielder closed to within one goal of the matching Bobby Tambling's club record 202 and, more crucially, edged the Blues nearer their top four target.
On a day that was expected to be all about Mark Clattenburg - who seemed determined to ensure this time it finished with 22 men on the park - Lampard made himself the story.
A trademark penalty, after he had set up Oscar's opener, brought the customary choruses of "Sign him up" from the Chelsea fans.
They won't, it seems. That ship has floated away, as Lampard will in the next few weeks.
The fans know it, too and it means the Stamford Bridge faithful are even more determined to make the most of their last sights of one of the club's greatest servants.
Lampard's status was only bolstered yesterday, as Chelsea looked like a team playing their 63rd match of the season.
Until Lampard replaced the stricken Ramires, the game had been ambling, Chelsea in control but lacking real intensity.
Instantly, everything changed, Lampard playing in the advanced role as David Luiz sat, giving extra stimulus and dynamism to Chelsea's play.
Only a terrific save, down low to his right, by Michel Vorm had denied Lampard five minutes before the break, after he had won the ball from Jonathan De Guzman on the half-way line and surged 30 yards.
Gary Cahill should have buried the resulting Eden Hazard corner but before the interval Chelsea were two up - and Lampard within one of Tambling's mark.
The opener saw the old guard link up to supply the new, skipper Terry - making back to back starts for only the second time since September - claiming the ball and then feeding Lampard.
This time Lampard saw the wider picture, teasing through to Oscar, who smashed an instant cross-shot into the far bottom corner from the right side.
A terrific goal and, swiftly, one became two, Clattenburg in the right place - as he was all afternoon - to spot Leon Britton clipping Juan Mata's heels.
No prizes for guessing who would take it, fewer for working out where it finished, thrashed home by the man who turns 35 this summer.
Tambling's appearance on the pitch at half-time - in a wheelchair after spending the last four months in hospital in Ireland - only served to increase the desperation for Lampard to add to his tally.
At times, it seemed certain another would come. Ashley Williams got in the way of a pile-driver from the England ace, while Vorm's excellent low save from Demba Ba saw the ball flash just past the on-rushing Lampard's head.
Clattenburg, making the low-key return to Stamford Bridge he needed, gave Cesar Azpilicueta a reprieve when he slid in wildly and caught Ben Davies.
The referee was equally lenient soon after when Ashley Williams, already booked, cynically brought down Ba on half-way. After leaving Chelsea with nine players on the afternoon he was falsely accused of racism, he appeared understandably keen to get this one out of the way.
Swansea's best opening saw Cech save from De Guzman but for all their clever approach play, there was no real thrust. That probably comes when a season can be seen as Mission Accomplished by February 24.
Chelsea could have made the margin greater. Hazard's run and cross from the left picked out Mata, whose first touch took him slightly wide before he dragged back and off target from 14 yards.
Mata then went for goal with Lampard screaming for the opportunity to convert.
It was, still, a great weekend for Lampard and Chelsea. They have their destiny in their own hands. The midfielder has Blues immortality in reach.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Swansea 0: Lampard nears Tambling record as Blues boost Champions League chances

By Matt Barlow

Frank Lampard’s pursuit of the all-time Chelsea goal record may have lost some momentum but it certainly retains a sense of occasion.
Having scored his 200th for the Blues against his former club West Ham last month, he produced No 201 in the presence of Bobby Tambling.
Tambling’s record of 202 is in his sights, even if it had started to fade as the games dwindled and Lampard moved into the final weeks of his contract, no longer certain of his place in the team.
Against Swansea, another former club who he represented on loan as a teenager, Lampard was on the bench for the first 25 minutes until Ramires limped off with a thigh injury.
He came on to a standing ovation and, by half-time, had set up the first for Oscar and scored a penalty, a spot-kick willed into the net by 40,000 Chelsea supporters. In the stands, Tambling looked on with pride.
At half-time, the 71-year-old was on the pitch to salute the crowd and after the final whistle he was in the home dressing room congratulating Lampard.
He was in a wheelchair and he looked frail but his health has improved. Tambling lives in Ireland and has been suffering from  Martorell’s ulcer, a painful leg condition, and pneumonia. He has been confined to a hospital bed for three months.
‘I’m glad he was healthy enough to be here,’ said Lampard. ‘It was nice to see him. He’s an absolute gentleman. There couldn’t be more of a gentleman to hold that record.’ Kerry Dixon was at the game, too. Lampard sped past Dixon’s Chelsea total of 193 goals in January. Between the three strikers, they have nearly 600 goals for the club.
Unless a new contract appears out of the blue, Lampard has a maximum of six games left to equal Tambling. Manager Rafael Benitez is sure he will get there. Chelsea fans are less sure. They were urging it to happen yesterday.
The collective desire was clear when Juan Mata chipped a pass on to Lampard’s chest. For a split second a shooting chance seemed possible, but the ball skipped away. Then he connected sweetly on the half-volley with a corner taken by Mata but it was blocked.
‘It would have been great to do it in front of Bobby but it doesn’t work that way,’ said Lampard. ‘I try to keep it from my mind because people are talking about it but if I’m confident, playing regularly and training hard, and if I can keep my head, the goals will come.’
Michael Laudrup paid his own tribute to Lampard’s career. ‘Quality is quality and it will always be,’ said the Swansea manager. ‘The thing is, even if we don’t want to admit it, we all get older.
‘Sometimes the pace is not the same and you can’t do exactly the same things, but the quality is there. He’s coming into the box as he’s always done in that second position and causes problems.’
Laudrup was more concerned with a sixth game without a win and ‘five crazy minutes’ before half-time. Until that point, the game had been subdued and uneventful.
Chelsea dominated territorially and the visitors threatened on the break. But when John Terry won the ball from Jonathan de Guzman on the halfway line, he seized on the disarray in the Swansea defence. Terry found Lampard and he stabbed a first-time pass to Oscar, who fizzed a splendid low shot past Vorm from the edge of the box.
Lampard converted his penalty in the second minute of stoppage time after a wonderful combination of intricate passes between Mata and Eden Hazard drew a foul on Mata by Leon Britton. It was Chelsea’s 18th penalty of the season.
Hazard, scourge of Swansea ball-boys, was exceptional yesterday. ‘He kicks who he wants,’ sang Chelsea fans. The £32million winger is truly starting to blossom as the season ends.
It wasn’t quite all about Lampard. This was a big day, too, for referee Mark Clattenburg, back at Stamford Bridge for the first time since he was accused and later cleared of aiming a racist insult at John Mikel Obi last year.
Clattenburg, jeered before kick-off, played it low-key. There was no argument with his penalty decision but he showed leniency when he might have issued red cards to Ashley Williams and Cesar Azpilicueta.
Williams had already been booked when he was turned by Demba Ba and pulled him back. ‘I was not happy,’ said Benitez, but Azpilicueta escaped with a caution for a late challenge on Ben Davies.
It was also a day when Chelsea climbed back into the top three in a weekend when Tottenham and Arsenal could only draw.
Mostly, however, this was about Lampard. It was his first goal for six weeks and one step closer to his place in history.

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Sun:

IT was a very good day for Chelsea yesterday.

Mark Irwin

No one was bitten, no ball-boys were kicked and the ref wasn’t accused of racism.
No handshakes were refused and even the manager wasn’t abused.
Oh, and Frank Lampard moved to within one goal of the club’s all-time scoring record just 24 hours after being written off as a former Chelsea player by the club’s own TV station.
And all of this in front of 71-year-old Bobby Tambling, a genuine former player whose 202-goal landmark is about to fall to one of the true greats of the modern game.
Six weeks after scoring his last goal against West Ham, it was beginning to look as though Lampard might just run out of time to overhaul Tambling.
His prospects of returning to the scoresheet did not look too clever when he was named among the subs as part of Rafa Benitez’s strict rotation policy. But he was handed an unexpectedly early call to action when Ramires had to come off after stretching to make a 24th-minute block.
And when ref Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot after Juan Mata had been tripped by Leon Britton, there was only ever going to be one outcome.
Step forward Lampard to dispatch his low penalty beyond Michel Vorm and spark the inevitable chants of ‘Sign him up’ from the Stamford Bridge faithful.
The midfielder, 34, had already set Chelsea on their way to three precious points when his precise through ball teed up Oscar to fire the Blues into a 43rd-minute lead.
And he almost drew level with guest of honour Tambling 10 minutes from the final whistle when he burst into the box to chest down Mata’s chip but had the ball snatched off his feet by keeper Vorm. Still, the record can wait for another day.
For if Chelsea beat Basel in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday, they will have six more games left in this marathon season.
And even if Lampard does not start in every one of them, the smart money now has to be on him making it to 203.
With top-four rivals Spurs and Arsenal both dropping points, this was a huge step towards Chelsea achieving their Champions League ambitions. No wonder supporters have given up on booing Benitez.
They might never accept the Spaniard as their boss but at least they are tolerating him for now.
Considering the almost impossible schedule which Benitez has had to cope with, he is doing a remarkable job wringing performance after performance from his weary stars. And no one has had to cope with a greater workload than playmaker Mata, celebrating his 25th birthday yesterday with another mesmerising display.
In his two seasons at Chelsea, the little Spanish international has now played an incredible 123 games for club and country. At a time of so much uncertainty at the Bridge, the only constant has been Mata’s consistent brilliance. Just how he keeps going is anyone’s guess but it probably helps that he now has Oscar and Eden Hazard to share some of the creative workload.
Hazard has moved up to another level in recent weeks, ripping opponents apart with his movement, skill and awareness.
Three months ago he was being vilified for kicking out at a Swansea ballboy during his team’s Capital One Cup defeat at the Liberty Stadium.
But now he is rightly regarded as one of the stand-out stars of the Premier League.
Just as this match was a redemption for Hazard, so it was to prove a fresh start for ref Clattenburg.
Six months to the day after Chelsea accused him of making a racist comment to John Obi Mikel, Clattenburg made his first return to the Bridge.
The FIFA-appointed official had plenty of cause to feel aggrieved at the ordeal which Chelsea had put him through. Yet he showed no sign of bearing a grudge as he shook hands with all and sundry before the game while ignoring the pre-match jeers from the Matthew Harding Stand.
He could easily have shown a straight red card to Cesar Azpilicueta for a horrible challenge on Ben Davies but settled for a yellow.
And he resisted the temptation to issue a second booking to Ashley Williams when he hauled down Demba Ba.
But that was as good as it got for a Swansea team who have now won just one game in seven since lifting the Capital One Cup.
They hardly had a shot on goal as Chelsea were handed an unnecessarily easy stroll back into the top three.

DREAM TEAM STAR MAN — FRANK LAMPARD

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Azpilicueta 5, Cahill 6, Terry 6, Cole 6, Luiz 6, Ramires 2 (Lampard 8), Oscar 7, Mata 7, Hazard 8, Ba 6. Subs not used: Turnbull, Ivanovic, Torres, Mikel, Benayoun, Bertrand. Booked: Azpilicueta.

SWANSEA: Vorm 6, Rangel 6, Chico 6, Williams 5, Davies 5 (Taylor 5), Ki 6, Britton 5 (Schechter 5), Routledge 6 (Dyer 5), De Guzman 6, Hernandez 6, Michu 6. Subs not used:Tremmel, Monk, Moore, Tiendalli. Booked: Williams, Britton, Davies.

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Star:

CHELSEA 2 - SWANSEA 0: FRANK LAMPARD IS A BOBBY DAZZLER

Tony Brown

BOBBY TAMBLING may not be Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer for much longer.
The 71-year-old travelled from Ireland to see Frank Lampard edge ever closer to his club record of 202 goals for the Blues.
Lampard needs just one more to equal that number after stepping off the bench to score a penalty which killed this game off by half-time.
By then he had already helped Chelsea go in front, setting up Oscar for the opener and Swansea never looked like staging a fightback.
Their season was effectively over when they lifted the Capital One Cup at Wembley – after disposing of the Blues in the semi-finals.
So this was sweet revenge for Chelsea, who beat them for the first time in four meetings this season and now look ever more likely to qualify for the Champions League.
This was the 63rd game of their season but they showed no signs of tiredness after last Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first-leg win in Basel. That said, John Terry looked off the pace playing in his first back-to-back games since a knee injury in November and did not exactly make the case for an England recall.
This was Swansea’s sixth game without a win – but the Chelsea juggernaut just keeps rolling on.
Blues fans belatedly sang “Sign him up” to Lampard even though it looks increasingly likely he will not be back next season. If they reach the Europa League Final, he still has six matches left to break the record.
In the end it was just nice to see Chelsea avoid any major controversies in their first game refereed by Mark Clattenburg since his race row with the club last autumn.
Rafa Benitez may have had that in mind when he left John Obi Mikel on the bench for this one, considering it was the midfielder who Clattenburg was wrongly accused of abusing. But the interim Blues boss didn’t mind starting with Eden Hazard, despite the Belgian’s infamous run-in with a ball boy at the Liberty Stadium.
Chelsea fans enjoyed some fun with that, singing “Eden Hazard – he kicks who he wants!” several times during the second half.
None of Chelsea’s players had a problem shaking Clattenburg’s hand before kick-off and the home crowd largely ignored him.
But he seemed desperate to be as non-controversial as possible, missing a stamp by Demba Ba on Leon Britton early on.
It happened right under his nose as well but despite Ba making contact with the inside of Britton’s thigh the free-kick was somehow given the other way.
Moments later Ba tested Swans keeper Michel Vorm with a shot from the edge of the box before Chelsea suffered a setback when Ramires limped off.
Lampard quickly came on to replace him and drew the save of the first half from Vorm, robbing Jonathan de Guzman in midfield and unleashing a shot the Dutchman tipped away at full stretch.
From Hazard’s resulting corner Gary Cahill was inches too high with a flying header on his return from a knee injury.
But it was Oscar who broke the deadlock, finishing off a nice move involving Lampard and Terry by peeling away from his marker to smash home a shot into the far corner.
Britton then fouled Juan Mata in the box to give Lampard a chance to inch closer to that record from the penalty spot.
The England midfielder was not going to miss that one, slamming the ball home despite Vorm guessing the right way.
Lampard has had to wait for that goal. It was his first in eight games and he was clearly on a mission, shooting on sight in a bid to try and add to it. Cesar Azpilicueta then became the second Chelsea player lucky to escape a red card when he was only booked for a two-footed lunge at Ben Davies.
With nothing left to play for this season Swansea did not look capable of making a game of it and Vorm once again came to the rescue with another fine save to deny Ba.
Mata then missed a sitter, rolling a shot past the far post with Vorm beaten after he had done all the hard work.
Lampard did have a half-chance to hit the landmark with 10 minutes to go but he fluffed his lines, allowing Vorm to gather.