Cesc dumps out Lamps’ brave Ram raiders

FRANK LAMPARD always did guarantee you goals and that was the case again on his emotional return to Stamford Bridge last night.

But despite Championship Derby giving Chelsea a fright, there was no fairytale ending for the former Blues star.

Lampard remains the club’s all-time top scorer with 211 goals in all competitions and he would have loved this five-goal thriller as a player.

Twice his plucky Derby side, who knocked out Manchester United in the previous round, came from behind after Blues loanee Fikayo Tomori and Richard Keogh scored calamitous own goals.

But strikes from boyhood Chelsea fan Jack Marriott and Martyn Waghorn were not enough to cause another shock as Cesc Fabregas hit what proved to be the winner.

Boy, did the under-strength Blues ride their luck though. Both Keogh and David warm hug from security as walked into the stadium, a round of applause as he took his seat in the dug-out and a chorus of “Super Frankie Lampard” at the end.

Up in the stands this time was banner which simply read: “Goal after goal. Game after game. Forever a Blue. Forever a legend.”

But Lampard hadn’t come for a trip down memory lane. He had come to win and he showed he meant business by naming an unchanged team.

Strong

That of course meant both of Chelsea’s loan stars Mason Mount and Tomori starting against their parent club.

By contrast, Maurizio Sarri rolled the dice by making eight changes – though this was still a pretty strong line-up with plenty of firepower on the bench too.

Nobody could have foreseen quite how it started though, least of all poor Tomori, who sliced the ball into his own net under little pressure inside six minutes. Derby drew level just four minutes later when Tom Huddlestone robbed Fabregas and fed Marriott for a sweet finish.

And the underdogs should have taken the lead when Waghorn found himself clean through only to fluff his lines and fire straight at Willy Caballero.

But disaster struck again for Derby in the 21st minute when Davide Zappacosta swung in a cross and Keogh deflected it past his own keeper.

Yet the drama was far from over with the visitors equalising again, this time through Waghorn, who made up for his earlier miss by stabbing home a Mount cross at the far post.

Chelsea led again before half-time when Fabregas scored their third after a mix-up in the box.

And with time running out substitute Nugent finally did beat Caballero, only to see the ball cannon back off the far post and into the grateful Chelsea keeper’s arms.