Frank Lampard delighted with Chelsea dominance and N'Golo Kante's masterclass against in-form Leeds United

The Blues were comfortable in their 3-1 win over the Whites at Stamford Bridge and for the first time this season Leeds found themselves struggling to play their natural game for long periods. Chelsea's front line forced Leeds to go direct, which more often than not simply handed possession back to the hosts, who were excellent in possession, showing strength and pace to run the ball back down the pitch then finding space in which to create danger.

Chelsea sit top of the Premier League after the win and celebrated with the 2,000 fans who were permitted inside the stadium thanks to London's Tier 2 status.

"There's nothing wrong with the fans thinking that [Chelsea are title challengers]," he said.

"It's great to have them back, the noise they made was huge and you could see how excited they were that we're top of the league. The next question is how consistent can we be with this form and how much can we improve because I believe we can. To play against Leeds, in the form they're in and the type of team they are and to be that dominant in creating chances it was a real great performance from us."

Much of Chelsea's dominance stemmed from the performance of N'Golo Kante in the midfield. He was a thorn in Leeds' side for most of the evening, winning the ball and taking care of it, knowing where the space would be and exploiting it.

"This year when I watch him play and I'm fortunate enough to work with him, when you ask him to do anything, he quietly just goes about it in the most incredible way," he said of his midfielder.

"Leeds' midfield was so mobile that the test was always going to be there, I thought our midfield dealt with it brilliantly and N'Golo was a big part of that."

Another man in form is Olivier Giroud, who scored Chelsea's first and kept the Leeds backline on their toes in and out of possession all night.

"His performance was great, off the back of the Seville performance," said Lampard, of the man who grabbed four Champions League goals in midweek.

"The reference he is as a front man, he's there and has the ability to be clinical with his finishing, the personality he is in the team. People always question me about who I play up front because I have options, when Oli plays there I can rely on him and he was huge."

Both sides lost players to injury early on, Robin Koch limping out of the Leeds defence on nine minutes and Hakim Ziyech pulling up after Chelsea levelled midway through the first half. That brought Christian Pulisic into the game and he capped a fine display with the hosts' third goal.

"Really pleased today," said Lampard.

"It's been a difficult period with the injury for him. I knew this game needed a huge amount of energy from the players. My plan was maybe to give Christian 30 minutes. He has an incredible gift of appearing centrally as a wide man, I was delighted with his goal."