Chelsea’s Top Five Goalscorers Of All Time

Chelsea have been blessed with a lot of legendary strikers through their 115-year old history. From Peter Osgood in the 60s to Tammy Abraham today, Chelsea has always owned a striker who strikes fear into the opposition’s heart.

Here we’ll see some of the Chelsea players who have scored the most goals for the club.

5 Players Who Scored Highest Number Of Goals at Chelsea

#1: Frank Lampard (211 Goals)

Topping this list, he is not a striker but a midfielder. This shows Lampard’s potency and ability towards the goal. Lampard has scored 211 goals for the club in 648 appearances in all competitions. 147 of them have come in the Premier League, combined with his 30 for West Ham and Manchester City, he has scored the 4th most number of goals in the history of the competition.

Lampard was a technically gifted, box to box player who was always the focal point for all Chelsea attacks. He also has over 100 assists to his name in the Premier League, showing that he was not only a goalscorer but a brilliant creator as well. Drogba and Lampard combined for 36 goals in the top flight, a record that remains unbeaten.

The West Ham academy graduate, was the stand-in captain the night when Chelsea won the Champions League as John Terry was suspended. He was also the captain one year later when Chelsea lifted the Europa League as Terry was out through injury.

Lampard is also the current manager (in 2020) of the club leading them through a tough phase post-Eden Hazard’s departure and the transfer ban imposed on the club.

#2: Bobby Tambling (202 Goals)

Scoring 202 goals in 370 appearances, Bobby Tambling comes second in this list of all-time top Chelsea goal scorers. Signed as a schoolboy, Tambling spent the next 12 years of his career in West London.

He made his debut as a 17-year-old in a 3-2 win over London rivals West Ham United. Following the departure of Jimmy Greaves in 1961, he was made the main striker in the club, a role that he played to the best of his abilities. He got the club promoted immediately after the relegation in 1962 following the addition of quality players in Terry Venables and Peter Bonetti around him.

He was part of the squad that lifted the 1965 League Cup beating Leicester City 3-2. With time, he lost his place to younger strikers like Peter Osgood and Ian Hutchinson. He only played a few games in his last season (1969-70) and was not selected in Chelsea’s FA Cup final success when they won against close rivals, Leeds.

Tambling was named in the centenary XI that was made to mark Chelsea’s 100-year history.

#3: Kerry Dixon (193 Goals)

With 193 goals for Chelsea, Kerry Dixon has the third most goals ever for Chelsea. Dixon signed for Chelsea in Summer 1983 when Chelsea had only just escaped relegation to the third division. Under manager John Neal, Chelsea was undergoing a radical change, with Dixon and Pat Nevin at the core of this new Chelsea side.

Dixon had an immediate impact at the club, he scored 2 goals on his debut against Derby and then went on to score 32 more as Chelsea was promoted as second-division champion. Pat Nevin, Dixon and David Speedie together scored 200 goals over the next 3 years as they formed one of the most lethal front 3 in Europe. He was integral in the following season in the first division as well, as he finished joint top scorer, with Gary Lineker, scoring 24 goals. Dixon was loved at Chelsea not only because he got Chelsea up to the first division and got them a stable top half finish, but also because he never left despite a lot of transfer speculations. Seeing his form and his ability, he could have easily left for greener pastures and could have won several titles. However, he stuck with Chelsea and got them promoted again when things were starting to fall apart. Chelsea got relegated in 1988 following clashes amongst key players, but got promoted immediately as Dixon scored 25 goals. Dixon is also 9th in the all-time appearances list however, he only won two-second division champion medals.

#4: Didier Drogba (164 Goals)

Drogba scored 164 goals across 381 appearances in all competitions for the club which ranks him 4th in this list. Drogba has also scored 36 Champions League goals for the club, the highest for any player in Chelsea’s history.

Drogba was signed by Mourinho in 2004 over owner Abramovich’s choice, Ronaldinho. This decision molded the next decade of the West London club as Drogba went on to become one of the best big-game players to ever play the game. Drogba scored 9 goals in 10 finals during his time at the club. He only failed to score in the 2008 Champions League final and the 2015 League Cup final ( he only played a few seconds ).

Drogba’s most iconic moment at the club remains the most important in the club’s history when he won Chelsea the 11-12 Champions League after scoring the winning penalty. He also scored a late equalizer in the game to keep Chelsea in the hunt. The Ivory Coast captain was a strong physical presence and had an intrusive approach to the game which made it almost impossible for defenders to freeze him out of the game.

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#5: Roy Bentley (150 Goals)

Roy Bentley holds a special place in Chelsea history. He scored 150 goals in his 367 appearances for the club during his 10-year spell at the club. In the 54-55th season he captained the first-ever Chelsea side to win the first division trophy. He had shorter spells at nearby clubs QPR and Fulham after which he retired.

Bentley, who died in 2018 was still very involved with the club, frequently appearing in the stands and the guest boxes at Stamford Bridge.

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