Frank Lampard broke the elusive 202-goal barrier following his brace against Aston Villa to clinch the game narrowly 2-1. His two goals made him Chelsea’s highest all-time leading goal scorer, as the 35-year old got his name etched in Chelsea’s folklore.

The playmaker has been at Stamford Bridge for over a decade now and has established himself as one of the old rear guard along with John Terry, Ashley Cole and former striker Didier Drogba.

Lampard was an almost automatic starter for Chelsea until two seasons ago, but after the likes of Andre Villas-Boas, followed by Roberto di Matteo and now Rafael Benitez, who have all stressed on the importance of an effective rotation policy, the player has been relegated to the bench increasingly more than previous seasons.

Also, given the Blues’ policy of either selling off the players entering their mid-thirties or offering them only a one-year contract extension every season, there were rumors stating that Lampard could perhaps be a possible big name casualty in the summer.

These off-the-field matters have not affected Lampard, who has simply gone about playing professionally. It also looks like these transfer talks have fired him up, as he has found a rich vein of form lately, the latest being his brace against Villa to break the goal-scoring record.

Lampard also feels that he still has a good 3-4 years of playing at the top level left in him, as he hopes to emulate the likes of Manchester United legends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, who have been playing till their late 30’s.

Speaking to Sky Sports a few days ago, Lampard said, “I’d love to carry on as long as I feel I can do and I feel I’m fit!”

“Ryan Giggs (has) got an aura around him. All the players at the club look up to him. He’s the mark.”

So Mr Abramovich did what he should have done months ago and gave the legendary Lampard another contract which is the best thing for the fans but most importantly the football club.