FRANKLY, WE WERE OUTPLAYED
Rams put in their place, says boss
DERBY boss Frank Lampard admitted his young side had been “put in their place” as Villa ran riot at Pride Park.
Unbeaten in six games and at home since August 11, the in-form Rams began the afternoon seven points above their opponents and in with a shout of going top.
But after spurning a slew of early chances, goals from John McGinn, Tammy Abraham and Conor Hourihane gave Villa a victory their supremely dominant second half deserved.
“If you come up against a side who work harder and run further, that’s what you get,” said Lampard, whose old Chelsea teammate John Terry kept a low profile in the Villa dugout.
“I’ve not said that about us this season, and that’s been great. It’s been a huge plus for me and a huge plus for the club. But today we were outplayed and outworked.
“We have to accept it, we have to be humble. We all have to look at ourselves and say ‘OK – that’s a 45 minutes we’ll learn more from than anything that’s happened in the last six games. It’s a wake-up call, and if that puts us in our place, good.”
If the second half was an exhibition in ruthless finishing, the first doubled up as an impromptu miss-of-the-season competition.
Poor Albert Adomah, in particular, must have wondered what more he could do. Three times Villa’s Ghanaian winger delivered pinpoint crosses,