As in stand-up comedy, timing is everything in football and Frank Lampard has the gift of bringing down the house. With Huddersfield Town making a nuisance of themselves and Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, facing a selection dilemma, the England midfield player arrived on cue to provide a reminder of his enduring quality with two goals and an assist.

The 29-year-old is a different player from when he moved from West Ham United seven years ago, having been transformed into one of the most prolific midfield players in Europe. Lampard remembers his first Chelsea goal, in a Uefa Cup tie against Levski Sofia, but it shows how much he has improved that he had to wait 17 matches to open his account in the league, in a 5-1 win over Bolton Wanderers just before Christmas 2001.

“It seems a long time ago now,” Lampard said. “It was difficult to get off the mark, but finally I did and after those first couple of years they’ve come quite fluently for me and to get to 100 is a landmark I am very proud of. I’ve always scored a lot of goals. It’s down to my dad pushing me to get into the box as a kid. Over the last four or five years, I’m very proud of the record I’ve got.”

Lampard’s place in Fabio Capello’s England plans is again open for debate, but Grant’s verdict on him as utterly unique seems fair. Scoring 100 goals in 353 matches from midfield is some achievement, particularly as Chelsea have changed significantly since he arrived.

“There are many midfielders in the world, but you cannot compare Frank to anybody else,” Grant, the Chelsea manager, said. “He is a midfield player who can do everything, but his best quality is to score goals. When he gets a chance, he scores. You can see that with the first goal, with the second goal. He will score many more.”

With Michael Ballack playing well during Lampard’s absence because of a thigh injury, it was said that he may struggle to regain his place, but it seems inconceivable that Grant could overlook such a potent goalscoring weapon as Chelsea battle for trophies on four fronts. The Israeli has a full-strength squad for the first time. Nicolas Anelka may miss out if Didier Drogba recovers from a knee problem to face Olympiacos tomorrow, enabling Lampard and Ballack to play together in a three-man midfield.

Andy Ritchie almost had one less option for Huddersfield’s Coca-Cola League One match tomorrow against Millwall when Michael Collins was left behind, requiring the team bus to return to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea (4-3-3): C Cudicini 6 - P Ferreira 5, T Ben Haim 6, J Terry 6, W Bridge 6 – S Sidwell 5 (sub: A Shevchenko, 75min), J O Mikel 6, F Lampard 7 (M Essien, 81) – S Sinclair 5, C Pizarro 4 (sub: N Anelka, 85), S Kalou 6. Substitutes not used: Hilário, R Carvalho. Next: Tottenham Hotspur (a).

Huddersfield Town (4-4-2): M Glennon 6 – F Sinclair 5, N Clarke 5, R Page 6, R Williams 5 – M Collins 7, A Holdsworth 5, J Berrett 6 (sub: D Schofield, 85), C Brandon 5 – L Beckett 5 (sub: A Booth, 80), P Jevons 5 (sub: M Kamara, 73). Substitutes not used: S Eastwood, D Mirfin. Next: Millwall (h).

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