No longer the main man - Frank Lampard hits crucial winner but his days of being Chelsea's lynchpin are over

With 17 minutes left on the clock and Chelsea struggling to hold on to a one-goal lead over rejuvenated Sunderland, Andre Villas-Boas ushered on fit-again Michael Essien as a second midfielder to screen his overworked defence.

He could have hooked Oriel Romeu, Ramires or, more likely, Raul Meireles, who had another of those frustrating games where he can’t enter the final third of the pitch without getting a nosebleed.

But the No.8 was signalled on the fourth official’s board and the man who would prove to be the matchwinner with his ninth league goal of the season and 11th for Chelsea in total looked over to the bench and, resigned to his fate, trudged off.

No doubt aware of how a public show of frustration might appear, Lampard accepted the offer of a handshake from his manager before being smothered in an embrace by Villas-Boas’ No.2 Roberto Di Matteo. He pulled on a club issued puffa jacket and took his place next to the handful of kids and fringe players on an inexperienced bench.

For the sixth consecutive league match at Stamford Bridge, a fully fit Lampard had failed to complete the full 90 minutes, proof if any further were needed of the midfielder’s diminished status at the club where he once had to be in his deathbed not to be on the pitch for the starting and finishing guns.

The relationship between Andre Villas-Boas and Frank Lampard is said to be a tense one, borne out of the Portugese’s desire to establish his authority over the senior players, many of whom are, like the Englishman, only a few months younger than him.

Opportunities to praise the England midfielder after matchwinning contributions have been ignored in favour of bland observations about it not mattering which player puts the ball in the back of the net.

It appears that Villas-Boas can’t live with Lampard, but can’t live without him, either. On the day that promised changes in the Chelsea set-up, with Essien making his long-awaited return to midfield duties for the first time since May and Gary Cahill’s transfer only a few crossed t’s and dotted i’s away, the difference between taking all the points and sharing them was Lampard’s gift for being in the right place at the right time.

The majority of thanks inside Stamford Bridge for the match’s only goal went to Fernando Torres, who responded to Juan Mata’s cross by swivelling his body and connecting ferociously with a scissor kick that caused the crossbar to shiver before rebounding back into open play.

With most of the stadium still marvelling at Torres’ athleticism and technique, the ball contrived to hit the onrushing Lampard and dribble over the line.

Tense relationship | Lampard is not untouchable under AVB but can still break records

While the Englishman lapped up the applause – to these eyes he offered no immediate public thanks to the man 95 per cent responsible for the goal – the crowd chanted the name of the Spaniard, who might not have scored yesterday but had one of the most effective games for Chelsea since the move 12 months ago that sent his career into a tailspin.

Lampard’s strike drew him level with Jimmy Greaves' 124 in Chelsea's league goalscoring charts. Lampard has 181 in all competitions, 12 behind Kerry Dixon, with the all-time leading scorer, Bobby Tambling, on 202.

In a departure from his usual refusal to sing Lampard’s praises, a clearly buoyant Villas-Boas observed: “He will continue to threaten all remaining Chelsea records in the future.

"Frank is always a player who has this amazing timing of arrival. It is no accident that he is one of the best goal-scoring midfielders in the world.”

Lampard, who will blow out 34 candles on his birthday cake in June, is like the passenger train that could do with a new coat of point and does not complete its journeys as quick as it did in its heyday, but continues to arrive at the station on time.

It is this reliability that persuaded Sir Alex Ferguson to sanction Manchester United chief executive David Gill to make two separate phone calls to Chelsea enquiring about Lampard’s availability on Wednesday and Thursday of last week only to be knocked back and opt to register Paul Scholes with the FA on the Friday.

Villas-Boas was at pains to champion Essien and the club’s medical department for the midfielder’s return a month ahead of schedule, but the real miracle is not the player who has spent three out of the last four seasons on the sidelines for lengthy periods. It is the one whose name is either first or second in the goalscoring charts every season, barely misses a game and continues to exceed any reasonable expectation placed upon him.

Yet Lampard’s days as a Chelsea lynchpin are over. Juan Mata is the designated playmaker, Ramires the whirlwind of box-to-box energy and Oriel Romeu the classy defensive screen. This leaves one place up for grabs, one that has generally been shared this season between Lampard and the more youthful Raul Meireles.

It will not have escaped the notice of such a thorough analyst as Villas-Boas that Chelsea’s record in Premier League and Champions League competitions this season is better without Lampard than with him in the team. The Londoners have won 52.6 per cent of the 19 matches Lampard has started and 62.5 per cent of the eight he has not.

Should Essien’s return to the midfield heartlands be a smooth one, it is hard to see Lampard being anything other than a mightily handy squad man or impact substitute capable of winning a game against tiring opponents.

However, much Sir Alex yearned for Lampard’s game-changing qualities, the player will finish the season where he has finished the last 11, at the Bridge.

Should Villas-Boas' reign be extended to a second season – and if Chelsea secure an automatic Champions League place - it surely will then be a case of all bets are off in the summer.

No longer a main man or central to the future centre of Chelsea, the midfielder might consider the last of his playing days better spent somewhere he can spend more minutes on the pitch.