Chelsea vs Derby thriller provides a fitting tribute to Frank Lampard on his grand return to Stamford Bridge

Lampard brings a thriller with him on his return to west London.
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Simon Johnson31 October 2018

Frank Lampard spent 13 years of his playing career producing goals galore at Stamford Bridge so no-one should be surprised that he delivered once again tonight.

A thrilling end-to-end encounter, where his Derby side were responsible for finding the net rightly and wrongly four times, was a fitting tribute to a man renowned for entertainment here.

Anyone tuning in on TV will have wondered whether the encounter was a Lampard testimonial rather than a fourth round tie between Chelsea and Derby in the Carabao Cup.

This was the first time that the 40-year-old has returned to the club he graced as a player between 2001-14 as a manager.

In Pictures | EFL Cup | 31/10/2018

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Unlike in 2015, when he was a substitute for Manchester City in a key top of the table clash, he was always going to get a warm welcome from all and sundry wearing blue.

This felt very much like a proper coming home party. Appointed in the summer by Championship side Derby, Lampard walked into the players' tunnel off the coach greeting the regular staff as long lost friends.

It wouldn't have been surprising if he walked into the home rather than away dressing room, but he managed to end up in the right place.

Before Lampard even came out for the start of the game, the Chelsea fans were going through the repertoire of songs dedicated to their hero.

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A huge banner with his image was unfurled at the Matthew Harding End. Written at the bottom was 211 - the remarkable number of goals he scored for the club to become their all-time leading scorer.

Nearby was another longer one, which read 'Forever a Blue, Forever a legend'. The message was certainly being sent loud and clear.

As Lampard came out to take his position in the dug-out, he acknowledged the applause from all four stands, then exchanged some banter with former team-mate and now Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola.

One might have wondered if all this love and admiration might have been a distraction and caused him to lose focus. Far from it.

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When Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori put through is own net to gift Maurizio Sarri's side an early lead, Lampard quickly barked out the message to the youngster and the rest of the Derby players 'to keep calm'.

And how they responded. Outplaying the hitherto unbeaten Chelsea for long periods on their own pitch.

Even when Richard Keogh scored a second own goal to help Sarri's men go ahead for a second time at 2-1, Derby didn't panic.

The other Chelsea loanee Mason mount provided a fine assist for Derby's second equaliser and it was notable how Lampard nodded his head in approval on the sidelines, barking out 'what a pass' to his bench.

Derby are clearly a team that mirrors their coach - they just don't quit. One would have thought Cesc Fabregas' strike to restore Chelsea's advantage before the break would finally dampen the visitors resolve.

Yet they did most of the running after the break too, forcing Sarri to bring on the experience of Pedro, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta to try and shore things up. It was probably the biggest compliment the Italian could have paid the young apprentice. It didn't really work either as Chelsea laboured over the line.

Significantly the Lampard songs grew less frequent as the Chelsea fans were made to sweat over the final result.

In the end, Chelsea just about got the job done and perhaps it was the perfect ending all round for those in west London.

Many want Lampard to become manager one day and as far as auditions go, Lampard passed it with aplomb. Super Frank is still, well, super.

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