top of page

Chelsea's top scorers of the 21st century: Hazard, Drogba, and Lampard

Barnaby Lane

Updated: Dec 17, 2024

Didier Drogba.
Didier Drogba is Chelsea's third highest-ever goalscorer. (Shutterstock)

Since the turn of the century, hundreds of players have pulled on Chelsea's famous Blue jersey.


Some, like Chris Sutton and Radamel Falcao, were infamously bad at putting the ball in the back of the opposition's net.


Others, however, like those listed below, were pretty great at it.


With that in mind, these are Chelsea's 10 top goalscorers of the 21st century, according to statistics from Transfermarkt.com.


  1. Nicolas Anelka


Nicolas Anelka in action for Chelsea in 2011.
Nicolas Anelka in action for Chelsea in 2011. (Shutterstock)

Games: 184

Goals: 59


Nicolas Anelka joined Chelsea from Bolton Wanderers in 2008 for a fee of £15 million, and won the Premier League's Golden Boot award in his second season at Stamford Bridge after scoring 19 goals in the top flight. He left the Blues in 2012 to move to China, before later moving back to England with West Bromwich Albion. After just 12 games for the Baggies, the Frenchman moved to India with Mumbai City, who would prove to the be the final club of his career before retiring in 2015.


  1. Diego Costa


Diego Costa.
Diego Costa. (Shutterstock)

Games: 120

Goals: 59


Diego Costa may have only spent three seasons with Chelsea between 2014 and 2017, but the Spaniard is widely regarded as one of the club's greatest-ever strikers. His 20 Premier League goals in his debut season at Stamford Bridge following a £32 million move from Atletico Madrid remains a Blues record.


  1. Salomon Kalou


Salomon Kalou.
Salomon Kalou. (Shuttestock)

Games: 254

Goals: 60


A Chelsea cult hero, Salomon Kalou won all of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Community Shield during his six-season spell with the Blues. Reflecting on winning the Champions League in 2012, Kalou told the Mail Online: "That night in Munich was one of the best of my life." "When you create history with a group of people, that affection never goes," he said. "I will always try to watch Chelsea play and to see the boys – John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole."


  1. Willian


Willian.
Willian. (Shutterstock)

Games: 339

Goals: 63


Brazilian winger Willian had initially completed a medical with Tottenham Hotspur before he eventually chose to move to Chelsea in August 2013. He went on to enjoy a stellar career in West London, winning two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League. He left Chelsea for Arsenal in 2020, and later went on to play for Corinthians, Fulham, and Olympiacos.


  1. John Terry


John Terry for Chelsea in 2015.
John Terry for Chelsea in 2015. (Shutterstock)

Games: 717

Goals: 67


Captain. Leader. Legend. And a pretty good goalscorer for a defender, too. Having found the back of the net a mightily impressive 41 times in the Premier League alone for Chelsea, Terry is the English top flight's highest scoring defender of all-time. His closest rival is David Unsworth, who scored 38 times across spells with Everton, West Ham United, Portsmouth, and Wigan Athletic. No less than 20 of the Scotsman's goals, however, were from the penalty spot.

  1. Eidur Gudjohnsen


Rio Ferdinand, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Peter Crouch on punditry duty for BT Sport.
Rio Ferdinand, Eidur Gudjohnsen, and Peter Crouch on punditry duty for BT Sport. (Shutterstock)

Games: 263

Goals: 78


During their time together at Chelsea, Eidur Gudjohnsen known for his cool demeanour and ability to set-up his teammates, while Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was noted for his physical presence and cannon of a right foot.


Together, they formed a formidable partnership known as "Fire & Ice."

Speaking about his connection with Gudjohnsen in an interview with Chelsea's official website in 2020, Hasselbaink said: "The partnership with Eidur was not worked on, but it was very, very special, and it was also very pleasant. It was very easy and it just clicked, the understanding was just there, and it was like a tandem, and it just fitted very well."


  1. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink


Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. (Shutterstock)

Games: 177

Goals: 87


The "Fire" to Gudjohnsen's "Ice," Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink won the Premier League's Golden Boot award in 2000/2001 season after scoring 21 goals. The Dutch striker is also the quickest player in Chelsea history to score 30 Premier League goals for the club, having done so in just 41 games following a £15 million switch from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in 2000.


  1. Eden Hazard


Eden Hazard.
Eden Hazard is a true Chelsea legend. (Shutterstock)

Games: 352

Goals: 110


Eden Hazard is widely regarded as Chelsea's best-ever player. A simply sublime winger with great balance, speed, and skill, as well as the low sort of low centre of gravity that made him nigh on impossible to dispossess, the Belgian wizard won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, an EFL Cup, and two Europa League's during his seven years at Stamford Bridge. He was also voted the Blues' Player of the Season on four occasions, and the Premier League's Player of the Year once. A generational talent, sadly, he retired from football in October 2023 when he was just 32 years old due to injury.


  1. Didier Drogba


Didier Drogba in action for Chelsea in 2008.
Didier Drogba in action for Chelsea in 2008. (Shutterstock)

Games: 381

Goals: 164


Not only is Didier Drogba one of Chelsea's greatest-ever goalscorers, he was also a scorer of important goals. During his time in West London, the Ivorian scored an astonishing nine goals in nine finals, including three winners in FA Cup finals. The most memorable of those nine goals, however, came against Bayern Munich in the 2012 Champions League final, when he netted a late equaliser to send the game intro extra-time. In the penalty shootout that followed, he then scored the winning spot kick as the Blues lifted European football's biggest prize for the first-ever time. The ultimate big game player.


  1. Frank Lampard


Frank Lampard.
Frank Lampard. (Shutterstock)

Games: 648

Goals: 211


Not only is Frank Lampard Chelsea's top scorer of the 21st century, he's also the club's top scorer of all-time, as well as the highest-scoring midfielder in Premier League history. A master of arriving in the box at the right time and shooting from distance, the Englishman also boasted a second-to-none work rate and first-class attitude. He gave is all in Blue every game, and the fans love him for it. Super Frank.

Opmerkingen


bottom of page