Former Chelsea captain and club legend Frank Lampard was sacked after just 18 months as manager of Chelsea Football Club. Everyone and Lampard himself saw this coming after the club slipped to the ninth position with five defeats in their last eight games and we all know the axe falls pretty quickly on Managers at Stamford Bridge. Lampard has had an illustrious career on his way to becoming a Chelsea legend and despite the recent results as manager, fans and players all over social media have been thanking Lampard for his services at the club. He’s seen immense highs as a player at Chelsea but here are a few of Lampard’s highs and lows in his short career so far as a manager:
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In September 2018, Lampard’s championship side Derby County took a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the third round of the Carabao cup. Juan Mata opened the scoring in the third minute for the Red Devils. In the 59th minute, Harry Wilson’s knuckleball freekick flew into the top corner which gave the keeper no chance. This changed the dynamics of the game. Later, Derby took the lead through Jack Marriot but Fellaini was there to level things out in the 95th minute of the game. Lampard and his young squad did not wilt under pressure and went on to defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Penalties (8 – 7).
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Wolverhampton Wanderers are one of those teams that the top six of the league are always wary of and we’ve seen our fair share of upsets. But this encounter was anything but that with a phenomenal 2 – 5 for Lampard’s men at the Molineux. Lampard’s side who have been struggling to win since the start of the season were completely rampant against a strong Wolves side. A hattrick from Tammy Abraham and a screamer from Tomori was enough before Mason Mount scored the fifth goal in the last minute of the game to get the job done.
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To qualify from their Champions League group, Chelsea had to win or draw their game against Ajax, a dangerous side full of potential. Ajax was 4 – 1 up by the 55th minute and were in complete control until they saw two red cards to Blind and Veltman which changed the dynamics of the game and gave us one of the great Chelsea comebacks to launch themselves into the knockout stage.
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With the likes of Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham, it was highly doubtful that Olivier Giroud was ever going to start a game. But when Frank Lampard went against all odds and gave Giroud a start against Sevilla in a must-win game, the Frenchman repaid the faith with a masterclass as he went on to hammer home 4 goals that night to ensure that Chelsea finished on top of their group at the end of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
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In February 2020, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho’s Spurs traveled to Chelsea for what was a highly anticipated fixture. This was potentially the perfect moment for Jose to prove to Chelsea’s management that they’d messed up by letting him go. But Lampard and his men put that thought to rest as the Blues showed the Portuguese why Lampard was the right man for the job (at the time). The match ended with Chelsea winning the game 2 – 1 and securing the fourth spot after the game.
Manchester United 4 – 0 Chelsea.
Frank Lampard’s Competitive Debut as Chelsea Manager.
Lessons to learn.
Needs Patience.#MUNCHE pic.twitter.com/uIiEItJXgB— AE Football (@AEFootball_) August 11, 2019
Chelsea under their new boss took on Manchester United in their first game of the 19/20 Premier League campaign with all eyes on the new era under Lampard. Every manager’s greatest wishes is for a dream start, especially against a rival like United, but for Lampard, it was just the opposite with his first trip to Old Trafford as Chelsea Manager ending in a 4 goal thrashing to give him the early blues as a man in charge.
It’s all over at the Bridge. Liverpool take the points.
🔵 0-2 🔴 #CHELIV pic.twitter.com/W6PG7fQuNc
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 20, 2020
After spending around 200 million Euros on players in the summer transfer market, Lampard needed results quickly to justify the colossal spending but his Chelsea side was completely humiliated by defending champions Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. A Sadio Mane brace ensured that the Reds went home with three points and put Lampard in a real spot of bother at the helm.
𝗔𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 Are FA Cup Champions Once Again! 🏆 The Gunners & 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗔 𝗖𝘂𝗽 Are Like🤞.#FACupFinal | #ARSCHE | #ZeroIsHere pic.twitter.com/VoXZLtIzHO
— Gal Sport Betting-UG (@GalSportBetting) August 1, 2020
It is a bitter pill to swallow when your team gets knocked out of a Cup competition, but that situation becomes tragic when you miss by a whisker and lose with one hand on the Cup in a Final. Chelsea faced Arsenal in the FA Cup final of the 19/20 campaign and Christian Pulisic gave the Blues the perfect start with an early lead but that joy was short-lived and was canceled out by a fabulous Aubameyang brace that broke Chelsea fans’ hearts.
Frank Lampard is fuming after losing 3-1 to Arsenal 😠#ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/1oectS3F2W
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) December 26, 2020
On 26th December 2020, Chelsea traveled to the Emirates to face Arsenal in a Boxing Day Premier League fixture that was poised to be a thriller. Arsenal, coming into the game were completely lacking form and were lying in the bottom half of the table while the Blues were in the hunt for the title. The Gunners were clear underdogs, but came out and shocked Lampard and the footballing world by beating Chelsea 3 – 1, thanks to goals from Xhaka, Lacazette, and Saka.
Any hate towards Tammy Abraham is ridiculous. He missed a PENALTY, how many world class players haven’t done that? His movement was great and he won us the penalty that took us to the penalty shootout in the first place.
We all have to get behind him and support him👊🏼🔵 pic.twitter.com/mPhVVjAq7T
— Oscar (@OscarCFC__) August 14, 2019
After Maurizio Sarri took Chelsea to Europa League glory, Chelsea had to face Liverpool in an important UEFA Super Cup fixture. It was Lampard’s first professional game in charge where he rallied a young squad together to face one of the strongest sides in world football. The Blues managed to take the game to penalties but ended up in heartbreak after Tammy Abraham missed the penalty.
[Featured Image Credit: Frank Lampard]
Shashank Iyer