Lampard wary of Man United threat in Carabao Cup

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Frank Lampard can get a measure of revenge on Manchester United after Chelsea drew them in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Lampard watched the Blues thump Grimsby 7-1 before catching United edge past League One Rochdale on penalties.

United beat Chelsea 4-0 on the opening day of the season in Lampard’s first match as manager, but they are now struggling with Wednesday night’s unconvincing 1-1 draw coming on the back of a dispiriting 2-0 defeat at West Ham.

‘I was just watching the penalties,’ Lampard said. ‘It’s a big draw, two big teams and I’m pleased we’re at home. We’ll see.

‘I think a lot can happen in football in a short time. The next round is not coming tomorrow. We have to respect the fact they have good players.

‘They beat us 4-0 … so I’m certainly not going to stand here and talk Man United down.

‘It’s going to be a tough game, and the beauty of what we did on Wednesday night was make the game look pretty easy.

‘But these games can be tough and I’d rather, from a distance and having not watched the game, give Rochdale credit for taking them all the way. Man United will bring a strong team here.’

Lampard got a first home win as Chelsea boss thanks to goals from Ross Barkley, Michy Batshuayi’s brace, Pedro’s penalty, Kurt Zouma, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

But the bigger picture was Lampard handing debuts to four academy graduates as well as a first start for Billy Gilmour.

Gilmour was a standout performer in midfield and fellow rookies James and Marc Guehi were also impressive, while there was a welcome return for England winger Hudson-Odoi, his first appearance since picking up an achilles injury in April.

After Lampard sent on two more debutants as substitutes, Tino Anjorin and Ian Maatsen, the Blues finished the night with six academy starlets on the pitch.

‘I’m pleased some players who have not been playing so many minutes played, there were some debuts, and the young lads who came on improved the team which was nice,’ added Lampard.

Matt Green hit a spectacular goal for Grimsby to make it 2-1 but that was as good as it got for the League Two minnows.

 

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Dean Workman