Lampard’s bold return foiled by Chelsea class
By the end, he took the applause of all four sides of Stamford Bridge as if he was leaving as the winner he so often was here and it will have felt that way for Frank Lampard, loved and appreciated by the club of his life, and very much on the right track in his new career.
The man who is arguably the greatest player in 113 years of football at Chelsea was the subject of an outpouring of love that few players at any club could command, through the game and then at the end after a narrow defeat for his Derby County side. He said that it made up for “leaving through the back door” as he did in 2014 after 13 golden years, although in the end it was the courage of his young team to compete with the best that did him the greatest credit.
This was a splendid cup tie with five goals in the first half, including Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori scoring an own goal for his parent club; the Chelsea fan Jack Marriott hitting a fine equaliser for Derby and Mason Mount, another Chelsea loanee, contributing a Derby assist. The two Chelsea loanees Tomori and Mount contributed to a strong away performance that almost took Derby, conquerors of Manchester United in the previous round, to another penalty shootout.
It will be Chelsea against Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup quarterfinals, although only the breadth of the post denied the substitute David Nugent from scoring an 89thminute equaliser, a shot that bounced back into the goalkeeper Willy Caballero’s arms. On the touchline, Lampard threw his arms up in disbelief, turning away from the Shed End where so many of his thunderbolts, clips, dinks, penalties and, yes, deflected shots, found their intended target.
“We certainly competed,” he said. “Generally teams that go 1-0 down after five minutes lose comfortably here. We came back. And then another own goal. We came back. Then their third goal was a foul. In general play, we had the better chances in the game. Outstanding from my team. I’m proud of them. It doesn’t feel like a defeat, but it’s a benchmark for how we want to play from now on in.”
The third goal was examined by the video assistant referee Craig Pawson but he decided that there was no case to answer for Davide Zappacosta, who barged into Tom Lawrence out by the touchline on Derby’s left side. Lampard said he turned away expecting the foul and when he looked back Chelsea had the ball in the area and eventually Cesc Fabregas would sweep in what turned out to be the winner.
“The fourth official said it was off the pitch,” Lampard said. “The VAR looked at it. I’ve looked at it and the ball wasn’t off the pitch, the foul wasn’t off the pitch, so it was blatantly a foul. I’m an advocate of VAR and it should clear up the ones that go slightly wrong. It didn’t tonight.”
But it was mainly about the farewell he was denied in the summer of 2014 when he left for New York City, via Manchester City and a famous goal at the Etihad Stadium against his former club the following season. Later when asked about having to leave “through the back door” Lampard qualified that by saying he had been welcomed back throughout the club. “It was exciting for me. I was nervous and excited. It is home. Not my current home, but my home for such a long time. I’ve been happy to come back and see a lot of friends.”
‘It was exiting for me. I was nervous. It is home. I’ve been happy to come back’
There was also great entertainment from the moment that Tomori deflected the first goal past Scot Carson with the same kind of wild swing as the one from his teammate Jayden Bogle that cost Derby victory against Middlesbrough on Saturday. The equaliser was Fabregas’s error in midfield, robbed by Tom Huddlestone who sent Marriott clear down the left channel to finish confidently.
Huddlestone was in vintage form, making another second half chance for Marriott that Caballero saved. Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen both looked rusty and Derby created chances including one for Martyn Waghorn that he should have scored. Richard Keogh scored the third own goal in succession for Derby from Zappacosta’s cross. Mount made the equaliser for Waghorn and Derby were going for it. Then came Fabregas’s goal before half-time, the fifth before the break.
Maurizio Sarri’s assistant Gianfranco Zola, another Chelsea great, admitted that the home team had been short of their best. “The passing wasn’t as sharp as it normally is, and the last 10-15 minutes we lost control,” he said but also praised Derby, whose performance reflected well on Lampard and his assistant Jody Morris, who may one day find themselves in the home dugout.