Frank Lampard on VAR, Harry Maguire's 'Headlock' & Édouard Mendy's Heroics Against Man Utd

25 October 2020 13:00

Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Saturday isn't going to win any Game of the Year awards, but there were still enough moments of excitement for Frank Lampard to discuss after the game.

The Blues lacked a bit of cutting edge in attack but felt they should have won a penalty, only for the referee to controversially decide Harry Maguire's tussle with César Azpilicueta was innocent.

At the other end, it was new goalkeeper Édouard Mendy who stole the show with a handful of top saves. Here's what Lampard had to say about all the fun.

On the Penalty Claim

Lampard felt Maguire was lucky to avoid a penalty | OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

"Holding goes on [at every corner], headlocks don't go on," the boss told BBC Sport. "It's a penalty. I don't know why VAR didn't take long - sometimes they take minutes - and there's a monitor to go and look at. I think if the referee goes to the monitor, he absolutely gives that as a penalty.

"That's frustrating. Over the course of the season, maybe some will come and go, but when you look at that one back, it's a penalty."

On Whether His Players Should Have Appealed More

"I don’t think there’s a need," he added (via the club's official website). "Azpilicueta was appealing, but when you have VAR as a back-up, that’s surely why we brought it in, to make sure they assess it and refer it to the referee to have another look.

"Maybe with the angle he didn’t get a view of the headlock at the time, but he didn’t get a chance to review it."

On Mendy's Excellent Saves

"I’m very pleased with his performance. It was very good. You rely on your goalkeeper for those moments. It was a tight game, not full of many chances. He showed what he’s there for.

"We brought him in because we knew his quality, and he’s shown a great composure in the games he’s played already. I’m delighted with the saves today."

On Building for the Future

Lampard saw clear signs of progress | PHIL NOBLE/Getty Images

“We have to be humble to that and say we need to work and get better," Lampard said (via Manchester Evening News). "[But] we came here last year and, for me, we were the best team on the pitch for the first 60 minutes and lost 4-0.

“So when you look at where we want to go to and what football means, it means some of the things that we did today, it’s a real base for us to work from. We’ve scored a lot of goals this season already and that will come, but today there were some good signs.”

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Source: 90min