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Striker Olivier Giroud guided a header past Tim Krul on the stroke of half-time after Christian Pulisic created space for the cross on the right.
The Chelsea pair almost combined again in the second half but Pulisic could not guide Giroud’s chipped ball past Krul.
Victory strengthens Chelsea’s hold on third place in the Premier League, where they sit four points above Leicester and Manchester United, who both play on Thursday.
“At this stage of the season results are critical and we didn’t concede any chances of note to let them score,” Lampard told Sky Sports.
“Where we are at as a team and where we are in the table, it is all about the result.”
Norwich, who were relegated following a
4-0 thrashing by West Ham on Saturday, failed to record a shot on target during the match.
But Lampard said his team “can improve” despite showing “a bit more personality in our game”.
“We need to move the ball quicker and be more mobile with our rotations,” he added. “We have done it in parts this season but if we want to move on, it needs to be better. But I don’t want to be too critical after a win.
“We didn’t give them anything to worry us. We had 10-15 minutes in the second half where we were slow and I didn’t like it but after that we got it back.”
Frustrated Chelsea get the job done
The first half was lacking in action as Norwich sat back and squeezed out any space available for Chelsea. The hosts just could not seem to get things clicking.
Following Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United, Chelsea would have wanted to start brightly and they showed signs with Ruben Loftus-Cheek heading wide and Marcos Alonso firing a dangerous cross in from the left within five minutes.
But as the half wore on, Chelsea struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities – Giroud, who admitted the team was “under a bit of pressure” to win, reacted to a third scuffed shot with a roar of frustration in the box after 40 minutes.
“I missed some things that I wouldn’t miss usually but maybe I lost a bit of confidence,” Giroud told Sky Sports afterwards. “My desire to score was bigger though so I tried to stay focused.”
Pulisic had provided the best chance of the half – controlling Antonio Rudiger’s cross, turning sharply and firing it towards the roof of the net, forcing a save from Krul – before he eventually set-up Giroud’s header with a swinging cross from the right.
The goal should have been a catalyst for Chelsea to release the shackles but the fluidity never really materialised, despite them still being able to create further chances.
Giroud and Pulisic were busy but not clinical, though it didn’t prove costly as Norwich never presented any real threat.
In the end, it was a comfortable victory for Chelsea despite a lack of ruthlessness. Manager Frank Lampard will hope that clinical edge returns for a significant run of matches – they face Manchester United in an FA Cup semi-final on Sunday, visit champions Liverpool in the league next Wednesday and then finish the top-flight campaign at home to sixth-placed Wolves four days later.
Norwich fail to inspire
Norwich boss Daniel Farke said before the match he wanted his team to show a response to their relegation, have “pride” in wearing the shirt and “create good memories”.
But they did not show any spark until the second half and only 15% of the match was played in Chelsea’s third.
When they did put pressure on the ball and pushed high up the pitch, Chelsea showed nerves in a match crucial to their pursuit of Champions League qualification.
Jamal Lewis and Todd Cantwell won possession in Chelsea’s half and tempted Chelsea duo Mateo Kovacic and Kurt Zouma into rash challenges which brought them yellow cards.
Farke also introduced Adam Idah, Teemu Pukki and Emiliano Buendia as attacking substitutions in the second half but none had any impact on the game.
In the end, Norwich managed just two shots, neither on target, and one corner – and set a new club record of eight consecutive league defeats.
But Farke said he was pleased with the “commitment and desire” from his side, while they finished the match with several academy graduates on the pitch

Manchester United had leapfrogged the Blues – who lost 3-2 at West Ham on Wednesday – into fourth place by thrashing Bournemouth earlier in the day.

However, Lampard’s side responded with a comfortable win over the struggling Hornets to reclaim the final automatic qualification spot for next season’s Champions League.

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Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for the Blues, latching on to Ross Barkley’s clever pass and steering a left-foot shot into the bottom-right corner.

While Watford worked hard to contain the hosts, they offered little to suggest they were capable of a first win at Stamford Bridge since 1986.

And they fell further behind before the break, with Etienne Capoue’s rash challenge on Christian Pulisic resulting in a Chelsea penalty that Willian converted.

Thereafter it was relatively plain sailing for Lampard’s side, who rounded off the scoring when Barkley found the top left corner from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross.

The Blues have now won three of their four games since the top flight resumed in June.

“Pre-West Ham, we could have gone third and we let ourselves down,” Lampard told Sky Sports.

“Today, there was a bit of pressure to get back to fourth and we produced – so get used to that pressure, whatever way it looks, because it’s going to be tough all the way through.”

Nigel Pearson’s Watford remain a point above the relegation zone but have played a game more than 18th-placed Aston Villa, who travel to champions Liverpool on Sunday (16:30 BST).

Reaction to Chelsea’s win over Watford plus all the rest of Saturday’s Premier League action
Chelsea regain mojo and top-four place
Manchester United’s thumping victory against Bournemouth had seen Chelsea drop out of the top four places for the first time since 26 October.

But this was the perfect response from Lampard’s side who were brimming with energy throughout and appeared galvanised by Wednesday’s lacklustre defeat at West Ham.

The Blues made four changes to their starting XI and looked considerably more assured defensively while Willian – who scored a penalty in his third consecutive game – Barkley and Pulisic provided the thrust going forward.

England midfielder Barkley was particularly impressive, demanding the ball in tight areas and then restricting his number of touches to get out of trouble and maintain Chelsea’s attacking momentum.

Chelsea’s opener was the perfect example as he controlled and swivelled away from a defender in one movement and then sliced open the Watford defence with his third touch.

Barkley, who played more attacking passes (47) than any of Chelsea’s other front six players, also capped a fine individual performance with his first Premier League goal of the campaign late on.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton