Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has been re-assessing their Premier League draw to Sheffield United on Saturday.

The Blues had initially gone 2-0 up in the first-half thanks to Tammy Abraham's superb positioning and finishing, however their two goal advantage was not long-lived in the second-half as Callum Robinson pulled one back early on, before a Kurt Zouma own-goal drew the game level at the death.

There has been a shining light amongst some admittedly disappointing results for the London club however. Abraham appears to be lifting the dreaded 'number nine curse' at Stamford Bridge as the striker has been contributing enormously to his side's good passages of play.

The Chelsea website have reported on Lampard's comments, after the manager has had time to assess the result and squad performances. "I wasn’t overly happy with the first half because I felt they had gifted us two goals," the Blues boss stated.

"Our performance had been just okay so we were in a really dangerous position and I was quite clear about that with the players at half-time. The warning signs were there but we didn’t react to that on the pitch. We needed to move the ball quicker because we were taking too much time in possession.

"We had worked a lot on Sheffield United and their style of play, how we could move the ball to cause them problems but we didn’t do it as I wanted us to do it. That was the contributing factor to me feeling we were a bit slow in possession and that gave them opportunities."

Not the ideal start

As it stands going into the international break, Chelsea are currently 11th in the Premier League table after four games. Lampard himself admitted at the start of the season that the club expects performances - however at this moment in time, they are also in a difficult period.

The transfer ban is well and truly in effect. However, this has meant the best opportunity for Chelsea's youth prospects to gain their chances, proven by the fact that their most recent starting XI was their youngest in Premier League history.

Regardless of this, the 41-year-old manager expects a high level of performance and is aware that it may take time to bond with his footballing philosophies. "I have to be patient because I’m asking for different things in the way we play and our movement of the ball," Lampard stated.

"There have been good signs in all our games this season but probably not enough as far as I’m concerned. We’re obviously having a few issues in terms of managing games but that’s on all of us and we need to resolve those issues."

Tammy Abraham's encouraging form

Whilst there certainly are some issues to work on - there are definitely some performances to be praised. One such player that has deserved acclaim for his recent footballing abilities is Abraham.

The Chelsea academy graduate has netted four goals in his last two games and is displaying all the attributes that have made him deadly at youth and Championship level. He now appears to have stepped up his game to adapt to the challenges of the Premier League, a notoriously difficult task.

This is all despite having come under unnecessary racial abuse online, displaying the true character and mental strength of the 21-year-old. Lampard was quick to afford praise for the in-form attacker also.

"I’m delighted with Tammy," the Blues boss explained. "He has a really great attitude in training, a desire to score goals and his all-round game was really good as well. Myself and the staff are working closely with him on little bits of his game where I think he can be even better and he’s been very receptive to that."

What's next?

As the Premier League comes to a two week stop whilst the international break resumes, there is now a good chance for various Chelsea players to regain their match fitness and train for the next fixture.

Lampard said: "We obviously lose a lot of players now so the only benefit will be some work for those who have been injured and are searching for fitness still.

"This two-week period is important, particularly for someone like [N'Golo] Kante to have a period of recuperation from his injury, so that is a plus for us."